FARMINGTON — A West Bountiful con man who has already racked up a series of charges for allegedly stealing and impersonating others now faces an additional 31 charges.
Prosecutors have compared Robert Sinclair Argyle, 35, to Frank Abagnale, a former con man who posed as a doctor, airline pilot, lawyer and federal law enforcer whose story was the basis for the movie “Catch Me If You Can.”
Argyle was already charged in two cases in April, and was recently convicted of practicing law without a license.
Now, in a lengthy 52-page probable cause statement, Argyle was charged Friday in 2nd District Court with six counts of communications fraud, 12 counts of money laundering and two counts of theft, all second-degree felonies; three counts of intentionally or knowingly interfering with critical infrastructure, three counts of forgery, possession of a firearm by a restricted person, and theft, all third-degree felonies; two counts of drug possession, a class A misdemeanor; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor.
The latest charges include allegations of fraud using a now deceased Arizona man’s thrift savings plan.
According to charging documents, Argyle was hired to roll the man’s savings into an IRA account. Instead, Argyle put all the money — more than $600,000 — into an account he controlled, the charges state.
Argyle would send the family some of that money to make them believe he was properly managing it. But when it came time to do taxes, Argyle sent the family a forged federal tax form, the charges state, which raised the suspicion of the family.
As investigators dug deeper into the paper trail, they found that Argyle “spent tens of thousands of dollars of (the victim’s) life savings over the following months in debit transactions and cash withdrawals. Robert purchased a Mercedes, toupees, transferred money to his and his wife, Mayra’s (and) other bank accounts. Robert spent money on travel, lodging and food. Robert paid several thousand dollars per month to rent a large home in North Salt Lake City,” the charges.
During a search of Argyle’s business office, where he fraudulently practiced law, police also found methamphetamine and a handgun, the charges state.