SALT LAKE CITY – Emilee Peterson Buckley, 39, of Salt Lake City, is headed to federal prison after a decade-long case revealed a brazen investment fraud scheme. Buckley was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Dee Benson to five years behind bars, and ordered to pay a staggering $11,272,908.74 in restitution to the victims she fleeced.
Buckley pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud stemming from her operation of Calypso Financial, LLC. The indictment, returned in 2010, detailed how Buckley systematically misled investors from January 2007 through October 2007, painting a false picture of financial success while her company teetered on the brink of collapse. She’s allowed to self-surrender to begin her sentence.
Court documents reveal Buckley knew Calypso Financial was drowning in debt – approximately $500,000 – and generating minimal, if any, actual profit. But she brazenly told investors the opposite. She falsely claimed Calypso was thriving through investments in residential properties, real estate developments, Utah land with water rights, a precious metals mine, and even foreign trading platforms in Hong Kong and Europe. It was a carefully constructed house of cards built on lies.
The pitch? Monthly returns of 4 to 15 percent, a promise she couldn’t possibly keep. Buckley even fabricated a balance sheet, falsely stating Calypso possessed a net worth exceeding $60 million, assuring investors their money was safe even if the business failed. In reality, new investor funds were routinely diverted to pay off earlier investors – a classic Ponzi scheme. Victims poured in funds ranging from $100,000 to a shocking $3.5 million.
The scheme unraveled, leaving a trail of ruined finances and broken trust. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City, alongside special agents from the FBI and assistance from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), painstakingly built the case against Buckley. While five years is the sentence, the financial and emotional scars left on her victims will likely last a lifetime.
This case serves as a harsh reminder: if an investment sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is. The Grimy Times will continue to follow this case and report on efforts to recover funds for the defrauded investors. Buckley’s self-surrender date has not yet been announced.
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Key Facts
- State: Utah
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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