SALT LAKE CITY — Calling it one of the largest Ponzi schemes in Utah history, a federal judge on Tuesday sentenced the mastermind behind the scam to 19 years in prison.
Gaylen D. Rust, 62, must surrender Wednesday to U.S. marshals. He pleaded guilty in December to three charges from running a $200 million silver trading scheme — two counts of fraud and one money laundering count.
On Tuesday, Rust apologized to his victims and his family.
According to civil and criminal court documents, beginning in at least 2008, Rust, who operated Rust Rare Coin with his family, induced investors to put money toward silver trading.
“Their money was going to be used by buy physical silver that was going to be stored at the warehouse,” Alan Rosca, an attorney representing some of Rust’s investors, told FOX 13 News in December.
“And it turned out that none of that was true,” Rosca said.” He was a fraud. It was all smoke and mirrors.”
Rosca spoke at Tuesday’s hearing, describing victims — 568 of them according to court records — now unable to retire; some are unable to make mortgage payments. U.S. District Court Judge Ted Stewart noted those impacts on victims in issuing Rust the 19-year sentence — the same amount requested by prosecutors.
Jacob Strain, the assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted Rust, said 19 years is the longest fraud sentence ever issued by a judge in Utah’s federal district.
“There was no silver,” Strain said. “There was no trading, and there was no…