Two more members of the Osmond family testified Tuesday that they lost $50,000 apiece when J. Gary Sheets invested money from their pension funds in a highly speculative program called Working Fund II.
Melvin Wayne Osmond, Provo, admitted that his recollections are sketchy about the details of the 1985 transactions that are part of the basis for the 34-count fraud indictment against Sheets.He testified in Sheets' trial before U.S. District Judge David Sam, who earlier heard testimony from Osmond's brother, Merrill, and sister, Marie.
Acting U.S. Attorney Stewart Walz asked whether Wayne Osmond authorized $50,000 to be transferred from his pension plan into Working Fund II, and he replied, "No, sir.'
He said he was not aware of a disclaimer that this was an extremely risky investment and would not have allowed it under those conditions.
"First of all, my wife would have killed me," he said.
Osmond added, "I hate to make things like this public, but my mental condition was not very sound at that time of my life," and he wanted to have his wife handle such things.
Defense attorney Peter Stirba asked Wayne Osmond whether he understood that the pension account was actually a bank account in First Security Bank.
"I thought it was an interim thing and it would go into the Pension Company's investments," Osmond answered. Alan Osmond said Sheets introduced him to the Pension Co. and did not tell of his part ownership of the Pension Co.