Utah rare coin dealer accused of defrauding investors in a $170 million Ponzi scheme involving silver

The Utah Department of Commerce said in a Friday news release that Rust had fraudulently obtained more than $170 million from people in Utah and 16 other states in a scheme involving silver.

The complaint alleges that for more than 10 years, Rust “tricked” investors who believed they were pooling their money so Rust and his company would sell silver held in a pool as market prices rose, and buy silver for the pool when prices fell. Investors were told this would lead to “extraordinarily high profits.”

Utah rare coin dealer accused of defrauding investors in a $170 million Ponzi scheme involving silver