This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A St. George man says a Utah newspaper libeled him in its coverage of a Jeremy Johnson fraud case.
Jason Vowell is suing The Spectrum and Daily News and its parent Gannett Company Inc. over a story published March 25 that lists him as a defendant in the Federal Trade Commission case against Johnson, who was accused of bilking consumers of $280 million — a false and damaging claim, the suit says.
The story, which has been removed from the newspaper's website, mentions Vowell's "primary involvement in helping Johnson hide millions of dollars in assets," the complaint states.
An online court docket erroneously listed Vowell as a defendant in the FTC case, court documents state, but Vowell says he has never been a defendant in the FTC case and "his name is never even stated in the body of the original complaint or any subsequent amended complaint."
Vowell, however, was drawn into the lawsuit. The court-appointed receiver confiscated assets it says were part of Johnson's operations.
Since the article was published, Vowell claims he has lost financial benefits; has been shunned by colleagues and acquaintances; has been exposed to public hatred, contempt and ridicule; and has had to "constantly" provide explanations to third parties as to why the article's contents regarding him are false, court documents say.
Vowell also said his children have been bullied and teased at school by people saying their "dad is a cheat and a scam artist who is being sued by the government," according to court documents.
Court documents say the reporter who wrote the story did not want the paper to pay to download the full docket from the FTC case and forewent "the reasonable amount of homework" in order to save money.
Vowell has repeatedly sent emails "demanding redaction," but the newspaper ignored the request, court documents state.
The Spectrum did not immediately respond to The Salt Lake Tribune's request for comment.
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