The retrial of former real-estate investor Rick Koerber on fraud and money laundering charges is now scheduled to begin Sept. 4 in Salt Lake City.
After Koerber’s first trial in U.S. District Court ended Oct. 16 with a deadlocked jury, prosecutors decided to retry him. A federal judge from New York, Frederic Block, will preside over the proceeding, which is expected to take eight weeks.
The trial, which had been slated to begin in the summer, was rescheduled at a status conference held Tuesday.
Koerber — a self-styled “free capitalist” and former Utah County real estate investment guru — was indicted in January 2017 on 18 charges of wire fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and fraud in the sale or offering of securities. The indictment says he took about $100 million from investors and used about half as interest payments, paying it back to investors to give the appearance of profitability, from 2004 to 2008. One count was dismissed before his previous trial began in August.
Federal Judge Robert Shelby, who presided over last year’s trial, recused himself from the case on Nov. 3, saying “an unwaivable conflict has arisen after the declaration of a mistrial in this case.” He did not give a reason for stepping down.
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts assigned Block, who is a senior judge, to the case on Feb. 14. Senior judges are required to hear only a portion of the caseload of active judges.