ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) — A Utah couple is being charged with financial crimes after they ran a gun and ammunition business that they allegedly used to defraud customers and financial firms of more than $600,000, according to the Department of Justice.
The federal court in St. George unsealed an indictment on Monday after the couple was arrested in Utah County, according to the Department of Justice.
John Earl Donaldson, 31, and Carlie Elizabeth Winters, 29, are being charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy and first appeared in court on April 14 at the U.S. District Courthouse in St. George.
Court documents claimed the couple conspired together between December 2021 and January 2023 to obtain money from their customers. The couple reportedly obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations that were supposedly meant to benefit first responders in Ukraine.
“Through false pretenses, Donaldson and Winters allegedly lied about Urban Armz’s inventory and ability to procure goods for which customers paid,” the Department of Justice said in a press release. “Additionally, Donaldson and Winters fraudulently obtained money from financial firms through false pretenses.”
According to the DOJ, Donaldson allegedly claimed to be able to sell large amounts of ammunition at “competitively low prices.”
In December 2021, a customer reportedly paid $90,000 to the company Urban Armz — after which the DOJ said the ammunition was never delivered and the couple spent the money on things like credit card payments and shopping.
Other instances include a Detroit company ordering $300,000 worth of body armor to donate to first responders in Ukrainian war zones in April 2022. According to the DOJ, Urban Armz never delivered that body armor.
In June 2022, a nonprofit for supporting Ukrainian refugees and immigrants in the United States spent $217,098.98 on “night vision goggles, thermal optics, and other equipment for Ukrainian first responders serving in war zones,” the DOJ said.
The nonprofit did not receive the equipment and Donaldson and Winters reportedly used those funds for other unrelated activities.
Furthermore, the company’s website claimed there was an office in St. George, which the DOJ said was false. The company’s website also allegedly claimed some of its clients included the FBI and the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency.
The Salt Lake City Field Office of the FBI is investigating the case.
