Rick Koerber's 'Free Capitalist' real estate Ponzi scheme, sold to his own LDS community
Claud R. "Rick" Koerber, known for his "Free Capitalist" real estate investment seminars, ran a Ponzi scheme through Founders Capital and the Franklin Squires companies from 2004 to 2008, raising approximately $100 million by telling fellow members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints his program was inspired by God and based on church principles. A federal jury convicted him on 15 counts in September 2018, and he was sentenced in October 2019 to 170 months in prison after investors lost a total of $45.2 million.
- Year
- 2019
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Reported loss
- $45.2 million
- Victims
- 600
- Schemes
- Affinity fraud
- Last reviewed
- 2026-10-09
The facts, as recorded
- Koerber, then 43, was charged in January 2017 in an 18-count federal indictment with fraud in the offer and sale of securities, wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion, in connection with Founders Capital, Franklin Squires Investments and Franklin Squires Companies.
- The indictment alleges Koerber obtained approximately $100 million in investor funds from 2004 to about December 31, 2008, using more than $50 million of it to make Ponzi-style interest payments to earlier investors, while neither Founders Capital nor the Franklin Squires entities ever turned a yearly profit.
- A federal jury convicted Koerber in September 2018 on 15 counts of wire fraud, fraud in the offer and sale of securities, and money laundering; he was acquitted on two tax evasion counts.
- On October 15, 2019, visiting US District Judge Frederic Block sentenced Koerber to 170 months (14 years, 2 months) in prison. Prosecutors said investors lost a total of $45.2 million, with individual losses of more than $1.5 million in some cases.
- Assistant US Attorney Tyler Murray told the court Koerber 'knew exactly what to say and do to get Latter-day Saints to invest in his real estate program,' having created a scheme 'he claimed was inspired by God and based on church principles.'
- Judge Block said Koerber had preyed on his fellow Mormons; Koerber responded in court that his 'original idea was not to prey on Mormons or anyone,' and prosecutor Tyler Murray described the harm as 'widespread: bankruptcies, home foreclosures, loss of health, loss of marriages.'
- Koerber marketed himself through the 'Free Capitalist' brand via billboards, television appearances and radio ads promoting his real-estate investment seminars.
Why this case matters
This is the clearest example on this page of a promoter who was a genuine, trusted member of the community he defrauded, not an outsider posing as one. Koerber did not merely mention his faith in passing; prosecutors say he explicitly told fellow members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that his investment program was inspired by God and built on church principles, turning shared religious identity into the entire basis for the pitch.
A scheme that never made money, even on paper
According to the indictment, neither Founders Capital nor the Franklin Squires entities ever recorded a yearly profit in 2005, 2006 or 2007, the years Koerber is alleged to have told investors and potential investors the businesses had generated over $111 million and later more than $500 million in revenue. The entire operation ran on later investors’ money paying earlier ones, the standard Ponzi mechanic, dressed in the language of faith.
A case the government had to reinitiate
The January 2017 indictment that led to Koerber’s conviction was not the government’s first attempt. Announcing it, then US Attorney John W. Huber said: “In reinitiating this prosecution, the United States brings a case that the community deserves to have determined on its merits,” seeking “a speedy public trial, without undue delay.” The scheme itself dates to 2004 to 2008, meaning well over a decade passed between the conduct and Koerber’s eventual conviction at trial in September 2018.
The caveat
Koerber was convicted at trial and sentenced; this is not an allegation. The $100 million figure for total funds obtained comes from the original federal indictment, while the $45.2 million figure is the total investor loss prosecutors cited at sentencing; the difference reflects money that was recycled through Ponzi-style interest payments to other investors rather than simply disappearing. The number of “indirect” investors, reported as approximately 600, is drawn from contemporaneous news reporting on the sentencing rather than from a court document reviewed directly for this page.
Sources
- Koerber Charged With Wire Fraud, Money Laundering, Tax Evasion, And Fraud In The Offer And Sale Of Securities In 18-Count Indictment Returned By Federal Grand Jury. US Attorney's Office, District of Utah. Accessed 2026-10-09. Supports: The indictment's 18 counts, the Founders Capital and Franklin Squires entities, the 2004 to 2008 scheme dates, the approximately $100 million obtained, the more than $50 million in Ponzi payments, and the lack of any yearly profit.
- Convicted fraudster Rick Koerber sentenced to 14 years in prison, amid protests. KSL.com. Accessed 2026-10-09. Supports: The September 2018 conviction on 15 counts, the October 15, 2019 sentencing by Judge Frederic Block to 170 months, the $45.2 million total investor loss figure, the more-than-$1.5-million individual loss figure, and the Tyler Murray quote about targeting Latter-day Saints.
- 'Free Capitalist' Rick Koerber sentenced to 14 years in prison. Fox 13 Now (KSTU). Accessed 2026-10-09. Supports: The 'Free Capitalist' branding and seminar marketing, Judge Block's statement that Koerber preyed on his fellow Mormons, Koerber's own quote in response, and prosecutor Tyler Murray's description of the harm.