Virginia Hill has never been a member of the polygamist church Apostolic United Brethren, but she nonetheless alleges they stole $1 million from her nearly 10 years ago.
The former Detroit actress is suing several key members of the group, including the Bluffdale-based church's leader, Owen Allred. All of those accused of stealing Hill's money denied the allegations through attorneys, and none have offered further comment.Contacted at his home, Owen Allred said he had nothing to say about the lawsuit or its allegations.
"It's entirely a hoax. It's revenge," he said. "I'm totally innocent (of the allegations). I've had nothing to do with it at all."
Hill's lawsuit filed in Juab County last month alleges Allred and three others took her money from the house of her uncle, one of 10 members belonging to an offshoot church of Apostolic United Brethren in St. George. It says the money was used to pay off a ranch owned by the church and the rest was spent on a variety of other things, including a car and a used car lot in Murray.
She alleges those purchases and numerous bank deposits and transfers were an effort to conceal the fact they'd taken her money.
With the help of several current and former members of the polygamist church, she said she finally knows what happened to her money, but it may be too late to do anything about it.
Earlier this week, a court hearing was held where the defendants in Hill's case asked a judge to dismiss the suit because the statute of limitations has expired. The judge took that issue under advisement but ordered those accused of stealing her money to be deposed by her lawyer anyway.
Hill's story began when she divorced her husband and liquidated her assets in 1989. She said she moved to Las Vegas to be near her mother. She took her life savings in small bills with her in cash and hid much of it in her uncle's house in St. George.
According to the lawsuit, her uncle was a member of a small polygamist group started by a man named John Sugert, who once belonged to Allred's church. Shugert introduced Hill to a man named Dennis Matthews, who tried to convince her to invest $1.5 million in a ranch in southern Utah where the small church group could all live.
She declined to invest in the ranch, but said she gave Shugart $40,000 to hire a real estate broker to help buy the ranch.
While Hill thought her money was safely hidden in her uncle's house, $1 million of it was allegedly taken by Shugart and Matthews to buy the ranch. The real estate broker they hired with Hill's money was John Putvin, the suit said.
Shugart thought Matthews was a loyal member of his group, but the lawsuit contends he was also a member of Allred's 3,500-member church. Shugart thought they were going to buy the ranch they'd showed to Hill.
Instead, the suit claims, Putvin and Matthews took Hill's money packed inside cans to Owen Allred and asked him what to do with the cash. Instead of buying the ranch, she alleges they paid off another piece of property owned by the church and eventually bought a car lot in Salt Lake County.
It could be several weeks before the judge decides whether the case will go forward or be dismissed. Hill's attorney argued that the clock on the statute of limitations didn't run most of the last seven years because one of the defendants was out of the country after Hill found out what happened to her money.