SALT LAKE CITY — A man convicted of defrauding investors in a Utah cell phone scheme will spend nearly five years in prison.

A judge sentenced Chad Leon Sayers, age 60, on Monday in Utah’s U.S. District Court. According to court documents, Sayers defrauded hundreds of investors out of $10 million over the course of a decade.

He reportedly told them, fraudulently, that his cell phone company SAYGUS was close to a multi-billion-dollar payout.

Early intentions could have been legit

Ruth Hackford-Peer with the U. S. Attorneys office said Sayers may have started out believing he was going to develop a smartphone.

Sayers reportedly told his investors he was developing a smartphone he called the “V” phone. He later called it the “V-Squared,” and claimed it would be sold and supported by his company, SAYGUS.

And he tempted investors by telling them they could see a return that was 100 times more than their original investment.

“He also put a lot of money in trying to launch this phone, and sending money to China for the development of this phone,” Hackford-Peer said.

Sayers reportedly  gave investors multiple launch dates that never materialized.

Indeed, the U.S. Attorneys office said Sayers never manufactured the phones.

‘This is not the place’ for a cell phone scheme

Instead, Sayers reportedly used the money to rent a 25,000 square foot office space, and to buy an expensive car.

Sayers will spend 56 months in prison.

Hackford-Peer said the ruling can be seen as the federal court warning others that Utah is not the place to launch a fraud.

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