The wife of a prominent southeastern Utah doctor who committed suicide amid an investigation into the illegal trade of Indian artifacts might be the focus of a new investigation into an alleged fraudulent multilevel marketing scheme.
According to a search warrant released Wednesday, federal agents reported running across evidence of fraud while serving a search warrant at the Blanding home of Dr. James Redd and his wife, Jeanne Redd, on June 10. The warrant was part of a larger operation in which 24 people from Utah, New Mexico and Colorado were arrested and accused of possessing and trading in ancient American Indian artifacts. Jeanne and James Redd were both indicted in the case.
Shortly after the announcements of the indictments, authorities reported that James Redd had taken his own life. Last Friday, a second suspect, Steven L. Shrader of Santa Fe, N.M., also killed himself, according to the FBI.
The case has been touted as the nation's largest investigation into the theft of archaeological objects.
But a new criminal investigation appears to have developed from the case. According to the recent warrant, federal agents seized four computers and a series of hand-written journals from the Redds' home in Blanding. Based on a review of the journal entries, which authorities say were written by both James and Jeanne Redd, it appears that Jeanne Redd, and possibly James, "were engaged in a fraudulent scheme to obtain money from a multilevel marketing company."
U.S. attorney for Utah spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch said her office is not releasing any details about which company it is or the nature of the scheme, citing an ongoing investigation. Rydalch said the apparent scheme noted in the journals has no connection to the artifact case.
Typically if law enforcement officers serve a warrant for a particular crime and run across evidence of another crime, agents must file for a separate warrant, as they did this week.
The computers are currently being analyzed at the FBI's Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory in Salt Lake City.
Federal officials told the Deseret News on Wednesday they plan to file a motion to have charges dropped against the late James Redd.
E-MAIL: gfattah@desnews.com