Coin Store’s $85M Ponzi Scheme Funded Horse Racing, SEC Says

A Utah man and his rare coin firm allegedly operated a silver trading Ponzi scheme, soliciting $85.7 million from investors and spending it on horse racing and a music studio.

Gaylen Dean Rust, who runs Rust Rare Coin Inc. in Salt Lake City, lied when he told about 300 investors he would store at least half of their silver with a security service, according to a Nov. 15 Securities and Exchange Commission complaint. Rust didn’t store any of the silver and instead misappropriated investor funds for his own use, the complaint said.

Rust claimed he used 100 percent of ...