SALT LAKE CITY—When Mark Fox met Stephen Romney Swensen more than 20 years ago, they became friends over their shared interest in airplanes. Fox didn’t know that Swensen would eventually swindle him out of his life savings. By the time Swensen’s Ponzi scheme was discovered, Fox had lost $850,000. In total, Swensen swindled nearly $30 million over a decade.

When everything came crashing down on Swensen in 2022, he committed suicide before he could face charges. Now, Fox’s attorneys at Peiffer Wolf are filing suit against Wealth Navigation Advisors (WNA) d/b/a Oak Lane Advisors, based in Centerville, for breach of fiduciary duty, failure to supervise, negligence, breach of contract and more. Swensen was a former registered investment advisor for WNA. 

“We’re trying to do something to salvage his life savings,” said Jason Kane, partner at Peiffer Wolf. “It’s unbelievable that it could all happen under WN’s nose without anyone raising a red flag.”

“Had WNA properly supervised Swensen, its own accredited investment advisor, none of this would have happened to the Foxes,” said Albert Copeland, attorney, Peiffer Wolf. “Swensen scammed hard-working people out of $30 million. How could this go on for a decade without someone noticing? Swensen’s victims deserve answers, and they deserve justice.” 

Mark lost $850,000 because of Swensen’s fraud, Kane said. “He had to alter his retirement plans. He’d worked hard his whole life saving and now he has to start at square one. They’re just devastated.”

Swensen approached Fox about a new investment opportunity, the Crew Capital Funds in 2019. He promised a guaranteed return of 5% annually and up to 10% annually. Fox considered Swensen a trusted friend so he invested $850,000. 

“He was using fake returns, a fake website and false investments,” said Kane. “Swensen would provide fraudulent documents that he’d doctored, adding Crew Capital letterhead. He was using it like his own piggy bank. WNA knew or should have known.”

“I believed that Crew Capital was the only option,” said Fox. “I would login in and see fictitious investments and returns that were entirely false all to bankroll his lavish lifestyle. He was buying airplanes and had two mistresses.”

Fox said to say he was shocked was an understatement. “At the age of 61 I’m trying to figure out who to trust. To think our lives were ended by someone I thought was a friend.”

This went on for 11 years, said Kane. “How he was able to run a Ponzi scheme for that long is astonishing. It was a clear failure of supervision.”

“I had no reason to question his legitimacy,” said Fox. “I’d known him for 20 years.”

Fox said when he found out his money was done he was devastated. “My family and I are still reeling from shock. It turned out that our own trusted investment advisor, who I considered a friend, had been ripping us off for years. My wife was going to retire but now she doesn’t want to.”

What Fox lost was more than the $850,000. “It’s really closer to $1 million with the investment interest. I’m paying taxes on interest income even though the money doesn’t exist. I’m trying to be a half cup full guy. We don’t have kids but we’d promised my great niece that we’d pay for college. I don’t know if we can do that anymore.”