A federal grand jury indicted Christopher J. Ashby, Jordan S. Nelson, and Scott W. Beynon on charges arising from an alleged nationwide investor fraud scheme operated through Noah's Event Centers, a chain of event venue facilities [1]. The government alleged that the defendants solicited investors across the country by making materially false representations about the financial performance and returns investors could expect from the business [1]. The case proceeded to a five-week jury trial in the United States District Court for the District of Utah, in Salt Lake City [1]. Three co-defendants resolved their exposure before or during trial, including William J. Bowser, the company's founder, who entered a guilty plea mid-trial [1].
On May 18, 2026, the jury returned guilty verdicts against all three remaining defendants on all 18 counts [1]. The counts comprised 17 charges of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud [1]. The government presented evidence that the scheme defrauded investors of more than $30 million through promises of financial returns that the defendants could not and did not deliver [1]. Bowser's mid-trial plea added weight to the government's case in the final stretch of proceedings, though the jury's verdicts rested on the evidence presented against Ashby, Nelson, and Beynon independently [1].
No sentencing date has been publicly reported in the available source material. Wire fraud carries a statutory maximum of 20 years per count under 18 U.S.C. § 1343, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries the same ceiling, meaning each defendant faces substantial exposure at sentencing [1]. Federal sentencing guidelines will direct the court to calculate an advisory range based in part on the total loss attributable to each defendant, which the government has pegged at more than $30 million across the scheme [1].
No post-trial motions or notices of appeal have been reported as of the verdict date. Given the breadth of the conviction, all counts, all defendants, defense counsel will have a narrow window to identify preserved trial errors sufficient to support appellate relief in the Tenth Circuit [1].