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Former Utah County ‘Shark Tank’ contestant charged yet again

SHARE Former Utah County ‘Shark Tank’ contestant charged yet again
Nate Holzapfel, of Provo, appears on “Shark Tank” to describe belts his company makes.

Nate Holzapfel, of Provo, appears on the ABC’s “Shark Tank” to describe belts his company makes. Holzapfel now faces criminal charges.

ABC via YouTube

Nathanael "Nate" Reid Holzapfel, who gained notoriety on the "Shark Tank" TV show before racking up a number of criminal charges, has been charged yet again.

Holzapfel, 43, of Orem, was charged Tuesday in 4th District Court with communications fraud, a second-degree felony.

According to charging documents, on March 5, 2020, Holzapfel contacted a woman in regard to a business idea she had. Two days later, he told the woman her idea would be a "big hit" and offered to assist her for $4,000, the charges state.

But, "between March 17, 2020 and April 3, 2020, (Holzapfel) charged (the woman's) credit cards for a total of $9,000 without permission from (her)," according to charging documents.

The charges are the latest in a series of criminal allegations involving Holzapfel, who was one of the co-founders of the Mission Belt company, which he left several years ago.

He is now charged in eight criminal cases with a total of six counts of communications fraud, engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, three counts of theft by deception, four counts of forcible sexual abuse, theft, being an unlicensed broker and four counts of lewdness.