SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)), published as received.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A Utah man admitted to his involvement in a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme in the District of Utah that collected funds of more than $60 million from hundreds of investors.

Matthew Morrison Bates, 42, of Lehi, Utah, appeared in court today for his initial appearance and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. He was initially charged by felony information on September 30, 2026.

According to court documents and admissions made at Bates’ change of plea hearing, beginning in or around May 2020 and continuing in or around June 2025, within the District of Utah and elsewhere, Bates and others devised and executed a scheme to defraud investors in an investment scheme involving short-term promissory notes that investors were falsely promised would be exclusively used by Bates’ company, Hedgehog Investments LLC, to extend “bridge loans” to companies seeking financial assistance to reduce debt and maximize companies’ creditworthiness, among other benefits. Investors were promised significant returns would be generated as the “bridge loans” were repaid by recipient businesses, but Hedgehog Investments did not extend “bridge loans” and any investor returns were paid with new investor funds, giving the false appearance of profitability. Investor loss is more than $60 million.

Bates is scheduled to be sentenced on January 12, 2027, at 11:00 a.m. in courtroom 3.4 before a U.S. District Court Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

United States Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah made the announcement.

This case was investigated jointly by the Utah Division of Securities and the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office.

Assistant United States Attorneys Mark E. Woolf, Tanner Zumwalt, and Brian Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah are prosecuting the case.