Utah County resident Jeremiah Joseph Evans, otherwise known as “The Bull,” was sentenced Wednesday in Salt Lake City by U.S. District Court Judge Tena Campbell to 96 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $19,134,150 in restitution to the 530 investors he defrauded through his LLC, Alpha Influence.
Earlier this year, Evans pled guilty to securities fraud and money laundering. According to a press release sent from the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Utah, Evans misled his customers by promising returns on their investments, lying about how long Alpha Influence had been in operation, and not disclosing that he had paid commissions to family members who provided Alpha Influence testimonials. The release also states that in 2021, Evans used $50,000 from the business account to help pay for a Lamborghini.
I was first made aware of Jeremiah “The Bull” Evans when he announced a conference in 2021 called AlphaCon. The advertising for the conference felt like a reflection of what we now call the “manosphere” — a community and ideology popularized by a certain breed of podcasters, bloggers, and YouTubers who prescribe a male-centric, and often misogynistic recipe for success.
The promotional materials for AlphaCon featured guns, fast cars, images of war, footage of weightlifting, and a digital flier featuring the conference speakers — none of whom were women. The title “AlphaCon” made it clear this was an event meant for the Alpha bros of the world.
I am not an Alpha bro. But I attended AlphaCon for journalistic purposes. And I was expelled just a few minutes into the event’s second day for reporting (live-tweeting) some of the more absurd moments from the first.
I was at first pretty traumatized by being escorted out of The Grand America Hotel ballroom, and then, about 10 minutes later, pretty entertained by it. It is, objectively, the funniest thing that has ever happened to me.
But I’m far less entertained by the reality of how Evans, and at least one of the other AlphaCon speakers, were conducting the “businesses” they claimed to have built.
Aaron Wagner, who was one of the conference’s featured speakers, was indicted in late 2024 for defrauding lenders and investors. According to the Utah U.S. Attorney’s Office, Wagner and his business partner Michael Mains used money from their investors to purchase a home, property and a personal plane. Part of the scheme, the press release states, was Wagner flaunting his lavish lifestyle — paid for with investors’ money — with images of his exotic vacations, private jets and expensive cars to demonstrate his success as a businessman.
It’s a technique that feels very similar those employed in a video released by Evans prior to AlphaCon.
“I have made over 11 million in sales before the age of 25,” his voice-over claims while footage shows him driving elaborate cars, jet skiing, and wearing a Rolex. “Be great or be nothing,” he implores.
And I have to wonder where he got this idea of greatness. And why there seem to be so many in the manosphere who believe that greatness can only be claimed when one has obtained enormous, flashy wealth, whatever the means.
I am puzzled by Evan’s decision to constantly draw attention to himself with podcasts, videos and a whole conference that projects his version of greatness if he knew what he was doing was illegal. I wonder if he thought the business would somehow magically become legitimate eventually if he faked it until he made it.
Or maybe he always knew what the rest of us know — that greatness does not come from driving a Lamborghini or wearing a Rolex. That greatness is most often found in the ordinary lives of ordinary people who work ordinary jobs but do extraordinary, often selfless things to better their community.
Maybe Evans knew what he was doing was the opposite of great, but thought he could prey on the susceptible to buy into this false vision of greatness, through his bombastic media presence or personal relationships.
In the U.S. Attorney General’s Office press release Executive Director of the Utah Department of Commerce Margaret Busse is quoted, “Evans exploited social media and Utahns’ strong community ties to lure unsuspecting investors into his scheme and caused significant harm.”
Watching the story of Evans’ conviction unfold over the last three years has meant watching my own personal comedy be revealed as a tragedy for over 500 victims. But I think it’s also a tragedy that Evans somewhere along the way became convinced that success was what men with no other qualifications other than having access to podcast microphones and YouTube channels told him it was.
On May 17, some of the same speakers from AlphaCon will speak at the Man In The Arena Tour, hosted by Garrett J. White who calls himself “The Initiator of the Industry of Masculinity.”
The promotional materials for the “tour,” which seems to have only one stop, look nearly identical for those of AlphaCon, complete with a digital flier of only men’s faces. “Introducing The First Ever Men’s-Only Business & Arena Summit,” the website states.
Ticket prices for The Man in The Arena Tour range from $197 to $5,000. I will not be attending for journalistic purposes because only men can attend. As the website states, “This event is designed as a brotherhood.”
I hope it’s a brotherhood with good intentions. But this all feels very familiar.
And I would hate to see another tragedy unfold at the hands of men with no qualifications other than having access to podcast microphones and YouTube channels.