Salt Lake City, Feb 3 : Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office said he was never
involved in a deal to have a Utah businessman pay the senator to make a federal
investigation disappear.
St. George businessman Jeremy Johnson, who's
accused of running a $350 million software scheme, said a top official in the
Utah attorney general's office orchestrated an agreement in 2010 to pay $600,000
to someone connected to Reid.
Johnson told The Salt Lake Tribune over the
weekend that he believed Reid would intervene in the Federal Trade Commission's
investigation into his business.
A spokeswoman for Reid's office, Kristen
Orthman, said that the Nevada Democrat "had no knowledge or involvement" in
Johnson's case and said the allegations "are nothing more than innuendo and
simply not true."
Federal prosecutors allege that Johnson's company sent
software to consumers for a supposedly risk-free trial but billed them
anyway.
Johnson was arrested at a Phoenix airport in 2011, carrying more
than $26,000 in cash and a one-way plane ticket to Costa
Rica.
Prosecutors initially charged him with one count of mail fraud. He
was set to enter a guilty plea to two additional charges of bank fraud and money
laundering as part of an agreement with the government.
But that deal
fell apart after Johnson and prosecutors disagreed over the terms. Johnson
instead decided to maintain his not guilty plea and the case is set to go to
trial.
The Tribune reported that Johnson provided the newspaper with
emails, financial statements, photos and a transcript of a recorded meeting with
John Swallow, then the state's chief deputy attorney general.
Only one
email from Johnson was available on the newspaper's website.
Swallow was
elected as Utah Attorney General in November and was sworn into office last
week. He has strongly denied the allegations and maintains he only offered to
connect Johnson with a lobbying firm.
After the FTC filed a lawsuit
against Johnson and nine business associates in December 2010, Johnson said he
asked Swallow to return part of the $250,000 he had paid. Johnson said he
doesn't know if anyone connected to Reid received it.
Swallow, a
Republican, said he told Johnson he would not interfere with the FTC
investigation or advocate for Johnson to the U.S. attorney.
"Any
suggestion by Mr. Johnson that I have been involved in illegal or inappropriate
activity regarding his FTC case or any other matter is false and defamatory," he
said.
Swallow said he connected Johnson to someone who could hire
lobbyists but did not participate in any agreement or receive any payment. He
said Johnson is trying to divert attention from his own problems.
Utah
Democrats have called for an independent investigation to look into the
allegations against Swallow.
Swallow's office declined to answer
questions and said they would be issuing a statement. Messages left with Reid's
office for further comment weren't immediately returned.
Swallow's office
released a letter asking the U.S. Attorney's Office in Salt Lake City to
investigate Johnson's claims.
Swallow said he's confident an
investigation will clear his name.
"These lies he's told have been
fabricated for some end I cannot imagine. That's what I hope this investigation
will show. I'm looking forward to clear my name and show people that this didn't
happen," Swallow said.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Salt Lake City has
declined comment on whether there is an investigation into the alleged
deal.
Before his arrest, Johnson donated generously to charities and to
the political campaigns of former Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. He gave
$2,400 to Reid's re-election campaign in July 2010, according to Federal
Election Commission records.
Johnson also used his personal helicopters
to aid search and rescue efforts in southern Utah and made international
headlines in January 2010 when he purchased a plane to fly doctors and other
critical supplies to Haiti following a devastating earthquake.
Johnson,
37, could face decades in prison if he's convicted. He is currently free on a
$2.8 million bond.
Prosecutors said they plan to file a new indictment in
the case within a month, but wouldn't comment on whether other people besides
Johnson would be charged.
A spokeswoman for Johnson's attorneys released
a statement saying Swallow's claims that he was uninvolved and had no knowledge
of the agreement are false.
"Johnson stands by his comments, as told to
the Salt Lake Tribune, and continues to believe that his understanding of the
agreement to be accurate," the statement said.
Ends
SA/EN
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» Reid denies involvement in Utah businessman scheme
Reid denies involvement in Utah businessman scheme
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