Calvin Curtis Pleads Guilty to $9.5M Elder Trust Heist

Salt Lake City estate lawyer Calvin Curtis, 61, admitted in federal court today to stealing at least $9.5 million from the trusts of vulnerable clients he was sworn to protect. The self-proclaimed expert in special needs trusts pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering, capping a decade-long scheme built on forged records, hollow promises, and cold theft targeting the elderly and disabled.

Curtis, operator of Calvin Curtis Attorney at Law PLLC and Curtiselderlaw.com, confessed to siphoning millions from the accounts of a client identified as G.M., beginning in January 2008. The funds, meant solely for the care of G.M., were rerouted to Curtis’s personal Wells Fargo accounts and used to fuel a lavish lifestyle—covering mortgage payments on his Salt Lake City compound, luxury travel, sports tickets, and extravagant gifts. He also funneled money to sustain his failing law firm.

On January 25, 2018, Curtis triggered a wire transfer of $1,485,000 from a Schwab Investment Account linked to G.M. into his own pocket—a move captured in the wire fraud charge. To hide the theft, he fabricated financial statements and submitted them to the court-appointed conservator overseeing G.M.’s finances, maintaining a façade of legitimacy while the trust was gutted.

The money laundering count stems from a $135,000 fraudulent transfer Curtis orchestrated from G.M.’s funds into his Wells Fargo account, $95,000 of which was wired to The Fechtel Company for a luxury remodel of his Tampa, Florida home. Curtis admitted he knew the transactions were illegal and that none of the stolen money benefited his victim.

Investigators believe Curtis plundered at least 22 additional trusts, widening the estimated damage beyond the $9.5 million already documented. Authorities are urging anyone who worked with Curtis or had a trust managed by his firm to contact the FBI at (801) 579-1400 to report potential victimization.

‘Defrauding vulnerable and elderly adults is a reprehensible and greedy act that is deserving of federal prison time,’ said Acting U.S. Attorney Andrea T. Martinez. The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation units led the probe, with prosecutors recommending a 73-month sentence. Sentencing is set for March 15, 2022. ‘Curtis’ greed had devastating consequences,’ said FBI Special Agent in Charge Dennis Rice. ‘This is about accountability for betrayal on the worst level.’