U.S. Marshals arrested a Park City man Saturday who was on the lam after pleading guilty to 56 counts of bank and wire fraud. Jeffrey Geddes, 40, fled Utah after admitting he bilked millions from Zions Bank, according to Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Jim Phelps.
Agents nabbed Geddes Saturday as he played video poker in a casino outside San Diego.
Marshals had learned Geddes considered himself a professional gambler, Phelps said, adding that several casinos were identified where Geddes gambled thousands of dollars per day.
Geddes was spotted playing poker with surveillance equipment set up inside the Barona Casino outside San Diego, Phelps explained.
So he no longer needed glasses, Geddes had undergone eye surgery to change his appearance. He had also grown a beard, Phelps said.
“However, his change of appearance was not enough, and U.S. Marshals took him into custody,” Phelps said in a prepared statement.
The charges against Geddes stemmed from accusations that he obtained a $30 million credit line from Zions Bank by falsely representing that his company was supplying tile to Home Depot, said a spokeswoman for the Office of the U.S. Attorney in Salt Lake City.
Geddes was ordered to wear an electronic ankle monitor, which he removed after he pleaded guilty last November. As part of his plea agreement, Geddes admitted he regularly provided Zions with fraudulent invoices and purchase orders from Home Depot to create the false appearance of substantial accounts receivable, Phelps said.
A plea agreement Geddes had reached with prosecutors included a recommendation for a 10-year prison sentence. U.S. Marshals began searching for Geddes when he sent an e-mail to his attorney on the day he was slated to be sentenced stating he planned to go into the mountains to kill himself, Phelps said.
“Geddes’ Chevrolet Tahoe was found abandoned near a main highway. Search dogs were brought in, but no scent was discovered,” Phelps said. “Marshals were convinced his claim to commit suicide was just another fraud.”
Restitution in the case could exceed $7.1 million, according to a court stipulation agreement that ordered Geddes to also forfeit roughly $7.1 million. A federal indictment returned last July indicates that Geddes began his scam by opening an account at Zions for his company, Adagio Stone, LLC.
Among Geddes’ assets that have been seized by the government are a multimillion dollar home, Rolls Royce, Prosche, Ferrari, recreational vehicle, all-terrain vehicles artwork and jewelry worth about $4 million, Phelps said.