American Greed 2017 Shawn Merriman: Mormon Bishop Mogul (Radioplay)

On April 8, 2009 in Aurora, Colorado, outside Denver, federal agents arrived at the home of Shawn Merriman, who was under investigation for financial fraud. Neighbors and journalists watch as agents remove almost 1,000 expensive items, more than 350 works of art, including works. by Rembrandt and Picasso a ski boat motorhome and seven cars, including an Aston Martin sports memorabilia and taxidermy, it was like a giant garage sale, there was stuff everywhere, there were boxes, there were trailers, you know, with cars, it's an endless stream of luxury items. all bought with money that

merriman

stole from his investors he was spending the money as fast as it came in the seizure marks the beginning of the end for

shawn

merriman

who has been living a double life for 15 years deceiving his own family his church and his investors They left a trail of destruction in their wake, but long before Merriman attacked Ridge, he's just a blue-collar kid in a family of construction workers.

The family is always on the move. Merriman lives in nine cities in 13 years. The family moved around a lot, I think they moved to where the jobs were Andrea Merriman was married to Shawn for almost 20 years. She remembers how Shawn came from humble beginnings but always had big plans for himself, he was just a go-getter even when he was a kid, you know. rabbits or did photography did all kinds of creative things to earn money as a teenager Merriman finds religion and converts to Mormonism serves an 18-month mission in the Vietnamese community in Denver day after day preaches the Book of Mormon and later like his mother , Sally, remembers that Merriman sets his sights on college, he likes the finer, more beautiful things in life and it simply prepared him to think that a career in finance would give him the kind of life he wanted.

Merriman enrolls at Brigham Young University and majors in economics in 1987 he meets a classmate Andrea Christensen he was someone who wanted to do great things after a whirlwind romance Shawn and Andrea are married we had plans for the future and everything our life ahead and that was the beginning of the path towards what I thought was going to be the fulfillment of all our dreams. The couple moves to the Denver suburbs and buys their first house in the spring of 1990. Shawn gets a job as a stockbroker. Chatfield Dean Shawn's dream in life was to become a stockbroker and right out of college, he got a job as a stockbroker in the 80's and 90's.

Chatfield Dean is one of the largest penny stock companies in the world. country that sells overpriced risky stocks to unsuspecting investors. Joe Manzanares, who worked at Chatfield Dean, remembers the high-risk environment. The atmosphere at Chatfield Dean in the early days was high energy really sell sell sell call on the phone dial three four hundred calls a day looking for that new client Merriman is one of 100 brokers hired here his salary is 100 percent commission the pressure to sell It's intense, brokers spend 80 hours a week cold calling, pitching stocks in small unknown companies, new brokers come into the business, they're really looking for an opportunity to make a lot of money quickly and there's a lot of pressure to produce, and if you don't you're producing you're going to lose your job Sean proves to be an excellent salesman, he quickly gains the trust of his investors and convinces them to give him their money and I remember that in his first three months as a stockbroker I think he made between fifty and sixty thousand dollars, so he was pretty good at what he did, but what his clients don't know is that Merriman is taking shortcuts and buying shares of companies without their approval, his investment usually didn't work out, he started making unauthorized transactions. with his clients because the pressure to produce got to him and at one point, we may consider letting him go from the company because people were complaining that the trades he was making were unauthorized.

Merriman quickly leaves the Ville chat. Dean and lands a new job at investment banking firm George K Bao, receives a signing bonus of fifty-four thousand dollars, and returns to work in April 1993. Sean and Andrea welcomed their first child eight months Afterwards, they bought their dream five-bedroom house situated on three acres of land for Andrea and Shaun. Everything seems to be going according to plan, but Merriman is hungry for more profits from American

greed

. Merriman launches his own investment business, but almost loses everything with his operations since he managed to get in. He got over it pretty quickly, which is where I think you panicked in 1994.

Sean and Andrea Merriman are like many young couples full of big plans and dreams. Our plan for our future was to work hard and raise our children to grow up and be good. citizens and creating many happy family memories along the way The couple are active members of the Mormon Church, are raising a young son, and Sean is finding success as a stockbroker, but Merriman has bigger plans for his career and decides he is ready. to start his own investment firm and we talked about it and he really wanted to do it and my mom had taught me to always support your husband in his dreams, so I thought it sounded like a good plan.

Merriman launches his own money management company that he names. At Market Street Advisors, in June he set up shop in the basement of his new house and began recruiting investors. He would get up every day, go down to the basement and close the door behind him and I wouldn't really see him until he came to dinner at night. Merriman is 31 years old and just a novice money manager, but his company is starting to take off. Merriman plays to his strengths and proves to be an excellent salesman. He was very charismatic. People described him as someone he loved. being in the room with everyone I wanted to be around him Merriman gets $400,000 from four different investors and is off and running, it was easy to like him and easy to trust him.

I think it was easy for him to convince people to give me money Merriman devised an aggressive investment strategy, buying auto stock options in hopes of getting a big payday, but according to postal inspector Rob Barnett Merriman, the bets were ruined. He initially invested in Chrysler, a big investment in Chrysler which pretty quickly lost $6,000, which was a big success for him. and overall the market was not good to him and he did not make some good trades, so he lost a lot of money initially within the first 12 months. The losing trades continued. Merriman is shocked and has investors to answer to. and the wife and new son for him to support, he probably had a bit of panic over the loss, which I can't admit.

This is $400,000 of other people's money that I'm responsible for and I can't admit that I lost it, so I figure he was the one who panicked, he was really stressed about his job and said he had a big problem and he was working on a way to fix it and then I remember a moment where he came to me and announced, "Oh, I figured out a way." to solve my accounting problem and I said, "Oh, good, good for you," and that was it. Merriman hatches a plan, a way to cover the loan and buy more time, he will start a new fund and get a new group of investors, but when he had initial losses he had to try to cover them, so he had to look for new clients and those new customers would put in money and that would allow him to pay former customers who wanted to withdraw money.

Merriman says his new investment fund will take a more conservative approach. He claims to be well versed in sophisticated options strategies that will earn consistent returns of seven to twenty percent. What he always said. I will use covered calls to cover the downside. There was really no risk and you wouldn't lose any money, which you later found out was kind of funny because he never passed his options exam. Merriman tells investors that they need a minimum of a thousand dollars to enter, but says he will make an exception for his parents Sally and Jack and told us that he was really going for the big dollar investor, but since we were his parents, he would accept if we wanted invest with our smallest amount and our much smallest amount, he would invest it in me.

Jack Merriman worked in construction as a pipe fitter until he was 68, after decades of scrimping, saving and raising a family, he has $35,000 in his retirement account and now the same man gives him that hard-earned money effort to your son. and you really feel like if you can't trust the child you've raised, then who can you trust every month? Shaun mails a statement showing small but steady earnings in his parents' account. We received wonderful statements every month telling us how this wonderful thing was growing. Just amazed at how well he had done, he must really know finances after turning to his family.

Merriman works with his connections at the church and in his neighborhood, and as Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Neff discovers that Merriman frequents classic car shows about the proud new investors, one of the things he liked to collect were old cars, so he began to frequent and attend various car shows. It was certainly a field that was ripe for profit and Shawn Merriman knew how to exploit it. In 1994, Merriman sets his sights on a new target, 54-year-old Tim. Gilmartin Gilmartin is a commercial pilot, but what he has been passionate about is cars for years. He has been restoring a chord from 1936.

Now Merriman and Gilmartin strike up a friendship. We went to exchange meetings together. We went to shows together. We are definitely good friends. It's about everything. the cars Merriman tells Gilmartin that he runs an exclusive investment club, but it is currently closed to new investors. Shawne Merriman always made a soft sell to investors. Hey, I don't really need your money. I don't necessarily like dealing with friends and family. But I'll make an exception here and that whole idea that his investment fund was something exclusive was partly key to his success. I mean, this wasn't going to be open to everyone so you had to get in quick because if not you know someone else could intervene and that's why he was able to take advantage of so many people?

A year later, Merriman offers Gilmartin an opportunity to enter the cloud. He said some shares were available. Someone chose not to participate in the background of it. The shares were available. Do you like to invest with me his suit was that if I win money I get 40% of the profits if I lose money I don't take money so okay that sounds good yes it's a hefty price but he was doing very well Gil. Martin and his wife Nancy ultimately send Merriman a check for $48,000 like clockwork. The couple begins receiving monthly statements showing small but consistent profits.

We just let them continue. I mean, we got a statement every month and it looked good. We are making money every month. month we are going up, the Gil Martens are seeing their money grow and consider themselves lucky for the opportunity to invest with Sean Maryland and they are not the only lucky ones. The money is coming to Market Street Advisors and Merriman is out and running again but she was successful in starting her plan, made that loss and covered it and was able to continue. I think she had skill and talent in the sales area.

He was a very good salesman. He could sell it. He will meet anyone and do it. Merriman has a new infusion of cash, but instead of investing the money he's starting to spend uncontrollably on himself, he's building a 4,800-square-foot addition to the back of his house inside his space for a new office, as well as a place to enjoy his hobbies He had an exercise room, he had space for himself, the old cars that he collected and restored, he had a carpentry shop because he liked to build furniture, he was a great hunter, he had charging stations, almost everything he It was his it was down.

In that building Merriman renovates the backyard and builds a swimming pool, sports court, koi ponds and gazebo. He heads to Africa for a hunt. He takes his family on a trip to New Zealand. He paid for all this with money stolen from his investors. being a

greed

y person not only taking these people's money but the lifestyle he lived was so luxurious it was something most of us wouldn't even dream of next about American greed a call to serve in the Mormon Church he's about to take the business to a whole new level he used his position in the Mormon Church as a

bishop

to get people to give him money for his scheme you could say he cashed in on you in 2001

shawn

merriman is living a double life his His family, his church, and his community view him as a devout Mormon, a family man, and a successful money manager, but behind the scenes, Merriman has taken millions of dollars from his unsuspecting clients and his entire business is a sham.

He didn't have an investment strategy because he didn't have one. Nohe invested the money, just took it and used it to live this lavish lifestyle in 2001. Merriman's image gets a boost when he is called to serve as a

bishop

in the Mormon Church. It is a very sacred calling and there is a very sacred commission. Brent Hillier. is an elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church members regard the bishop as their spiritual and temporal leader preside over weekly services are well-regarded and respected by the congregation Merriman devotes more than 20 hours each week to his role as bishop and at home Merriman practices what he preaches we had daily family prayer we studied the scriptures with our children every day we had weekly family home evenings where we did an activity as a family or taught our children a life or gospel principle, such as honesty or love within our family, love in the home, service to others, kindness with the holiness of the Mormon Church behind it, Merriman's business takes off and he is now a bishop of the Mormon Church, That's even more reason to trust him, word of the devoted money manager spreads around town and investors flock to Merriman investors like Gary, who asks American greed not to show its face in 2001.

Gary buys a house two doors down from Maryland when his chiropractor touts Merriman's success. Gary wants to walk into the exclusive club and says when you move in there I have someone I want you to meet, he's an investment advisor and everything he touches goes crazy, you'll be surprised he's the nicest guy, he's a bishop of our church and everything. What you touch becomes reality with just a high school degree. Gary began his career as a tool dealer and eventually built a business from scratch when he told him what his strategies were. They made a lot of sense, like so many before him.

Gary buys into the pitch, sends Shawne Merriman $70,000 and starts watching in amazement as his money grows so you can see if you average it, he had averages of 12 to 20 percent. They were getting these statements in the mail that weren't outlandish, you know they were. By earning 80 percent, they were regular statements that they seemed to be earning what they should with a regular investment, and as time went on, we had built up a decent-sized portfolio, enough that, within the earnings he Gary hands over the proceeds from the sale of his business over six hundred thousand dollars and prepares to enjoy his retirement.

I think a lot of investors probably thought, "Wow, I really hit the jackpot." I am lucky that this genius, this guru will give me the opportunity to invest with him. I'm not going to ask any more questions. I'm just going to trust that he continues to make me my millions when he was actually scamming him. back pocket, while Merriman is a superstar salesman, he is not an expert investor, he only trades sporadically and loses. He wanted to be a good investor. He was, so to speak, a legend in his own mind in the market, but the paper trail and the real accounting record.

Because his success in the market was an abysmal failure, he couldn't predict the market well and failed as a behind-the-scenes stockbroker, new money doesn't come fast enough. Merriman is having a difficult time keeping up with repayments and funding his lavish lifestyle. The strain begins to show in 2001. Tim Gilmartin has a disturbing experience when his wife asks him to withdraw $10,000 from her accounts. He takes the check deposited in that bank and they call and say there is no money in this account and the check was bounced and imagine the stress you must have had to know when a person wanted your money.

I leave and find someone else, but Merriman assures Gilmartin that it's a banking error and two days later the check clears, for now Merriman manages to stay. the business afloat, always the salesman, continues to make new money, he knew how to continually gain people's trust, so he was an alternative fraud and he was excellent at doing it next, on American greed, the money continues to flow. and Merriman spends kicks and I team wanting more and more is what you call greed. It's fair to say that Shawne Merriman was a greedy and greedy man. In the early 2000s, Shawn Merriman has weathered the ups and downs of his investment plan and it seems.

To get back on top, the esteemed Mormon bishop runs the most sought-after investment fund in town, has dozens of investors from several states, and lives large off of his investors' money. I mean, this guy was living a life that most of us will never live. live Merriman takes his family on trips around the world in 2001 they traveled to Africa the next year to England our family was able to go to many fun places we were able to go to Turkey we were able to go to Russia and Poland and Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland, we sailed around the Panama Canal, we saw a lot of islands in the Caribbean, we went pretty much anywhere we aimed to go and Merriman started buying cars, a 1937 Accord and asked Martin with a $125,000 price tag and a house luxury RV for half a million dollars and builds an impressive taxidermy collection based on his intuition about wild animals.

He went to New Zealand and hunted. He went to Alaska and hunted. He went to Russia and hunted bears. and he went to Cameroon. Ethiopia Zambia Zimbabwe. South Africa, Tanzania, he would travel to any place where there was important game and then have his trophies hunted and stuffed and put them in his building, so I always thought his expenses were way above what was necessary. but that's what he liked and I thought he was working hard, but Merriman doesn't have a legitimate source of income. Everything he buys and every exciting adventure is paid for with money stolen from investors, but Andrea knows nothing and she never suspects that her husband is up to something. not good, I received the same statements as everyone else, over time I saw that our money arrived too late at the level of millions of dollars, so I thought that we were prepared for the future, that we had a good amount saved from which we could live and what we could endure. many financial storms in 2005 Merriman has discovered a new passion collecting fine art Merryman displays millions of dollars and acquires a staggering 350 pieces, including maker and Rembrandt borders.

He had a large collection and I always used to look at it and be amazed that they had survived so many centuries intact and were hanging on the walls of our house in March 2008. Merriman's collection is on display in Denver in an exhibit called The Renaissance of the faith in art. 200 original works representing the life of Christ are on display. he wanted to build an art collection centered on Christ and it involved Rembrandt prints, Old Master prints, an original Illuminator Bible, all kinds of religious-themed artifacts. More than 30,000 visitors came to see the exhibition and Merriman is hailed as a hero for creating such renowned art.

Publicly accessible Shawn Merriman was there and watched proudly as people shook his hand and admired the collection. It's hard to believe that when you think about the show everything was based on fraud and the purchase of these items is based on The scam on investors for now Merriman is at its peak, but when American greed returns with markets in free fall, investors start demanding their money back, but when people started asking for their money, Shawn Merriman didn't have the money because he didn't invest it. He had spent it on his lavish lifestyle there was nowhere to go in 2008 the nation's economy has fallen into a recession breaking news all over Wall Street this morning this is a special morning edition of squawking as Lehman Brothers squawks.

Declares Stock Market Bankruptcy Falling unemployment is rising at a record pace and investors around the world are nervous, but for Shawn Merriman it's business as usual. In July he buys a ski boat. A month later he buys a five-bedroom cabin in Idaho. He showed no signs of stopping. this was the guy who kept wanting more and more, the markets are getting hit. Merriman's statements continue to show consistent gains and some investors suspect that he is still making money and the S&P 100 has fallen more than 45%. Tim Gilmartin has been investing with Merriman for 13 years and has seen his investment quadruple, but now he and some friends from the car club have an uneasy feeling and one of them asked me, Tim, what do you think is going on here?

Look, the markets are falling like crazy, but Shawn is still making money. Maybe we should do an audit and I said yeah, that's a good idea. You know there were some investors who were demanding better, more independent accounting for how their funds were managed and what their track record was, and the more they asked for that. accounting the more he resisted the investors were harassing Merriman and demanding their money back, he panicked because people needed money and were coming to him to withdraw their investments he didn't have it his world quickly collapsed Merriman's account is empty and no new money is coming in.

Since he can't keep up with the repayments, he takes out a loan on his house for nine hundred and forty thousand dollars to buy him some time, but the fraud that Merriman orchestrated is about to collapse. He was in a pressure cooker. Shawn Merriman really felt cornered. I don't think he had a choice. I think the walls were closing in on him so fast that he had no choice. Merriman realizes that he can't keep up the charade any longer and weighs his remaining options. he talked about putting the beautiful works of art in a briefcase, fleeing to Europe and selling these beautiful works of art over the years to runaway Romanians.

He mentioned that he considered, but ultimately rejected, committing suicide, which left him with his best card that he played in our case to turn himself in to federal authorities, beg for mercy and try to get the best deal possible March 18, 2009 Merriman turns himself in to the federal authorities In my 20 years I have never seen a case where an individual revealed a crime of this magnitude by raising his hand and admitting to the authorities a horrible crime was committed. I need to go to prison for a long time. This is how the case began in a 90-minute interview.

Merriman details how Market Street Advisors were all a scam, but I was actually surprised by how important it is. -In fact, he recited the facts of his involvement in this particular case. Merriman brought in 68 investors from multiple states and over the course of 15 years received over $21 million, now the money has poured in and I have my impression of it. that on some level I was absolutely exhausted from living this lie, many of Merriman's burned investors were family, close friends, neighbors and fellow Mormons of the people who lost money, it was absolutely the ultimate betrayal, he was a friend, he went to barbecues with Your clients.

He would take them on trips, go to church with them, talk about someone who just betrayed everything you ever believed in. That's what they say Shawne Merriman did after confessing that Merriman is being allowed to walk free while the government builds its case against him. He returns home to break up. He broke the news to his wife and told her I have to tell you that my company Market Street Advisors is a farce and that was the beginning of the end for me that was where it all ended in an instant Andrea discovers that her life was based on a series of lies, I just sat there, I was so shocked that I couldn't react either and then after he told me that he was leaving and that I would be left alone to raise our children and that he was sorry, he started crying and that's it. when I knew it had to be real, that it shouldn't be a joke, I just couldn't understand it, all I could think was that I needed to get away from this man, it just felt like he was a stranger, in an instant, in a moment.

It was someone he didn't know and couldn't imagine he had ever met, but Merriman isn't done, he picks up the phone and starts dialing each and every one of his victims, including his own mother, he just said mom, I have to tell you. something very bad. I have been running a Ponzi scheme. I took your money and said how could you? I told him you took all of our retirement money. He said yes and it's like, what then? it went wrong why would you do this? Sally and Jack's original investment of $35,000 had complained about the $178,000 now they find out the money is gone and it's just you're sick, you're sick to your stomach and you think how could he and he said, "I'm sorry." I will only get five years because I will give myself and help you as much as possible.

There is complete shock that it is all gone for Tim Gilmartin. His suspicions are now confirmed. Merriman's betrayal is difficult to understand. Okay, how could you do that to him? your family, your friends, the car, kids, everyone, how could you do it? I don't know how we slept tonight. In reality, many investors like Gary don'tThey are completely devastated. He just said I notified the feds on Monday and there is no money, there never has been. has been and all of this has been a fraud and a sham Gary had invested his life savings with Shaun over $800,000 which had grown to over 1 million dollars on paper now it's all over the deception is more than what Gary can handle it.

I went home and loaded up a 45 and had every intention except to get off and blow it up, but when I got to the front door I realized that would put me in prison or dead and missing my family. Investors were outraged. Frankly, you know, they wanted blood. for mr. Merriman when American greed returns Shawne Merriman will have his day in court and come face to face with his outraged investors I want to see that son of a bitch go to jail March 2009 news of Shawn Merriman's scam spreads quickly No one seems to suspect Merriman is capable of such deception, one begins to wonder if the man has any heart or soul involved in this type of callous behavior.

On April 8, the team of federal agents arrives at Merriman's sprawling home to begin confiscating his assets, but even in their wildest dreams the agents could never have imagined the hidden treasure they were about to discover. That part was overwhelming. We are all amazed and shocked that there is so much stuff piled up in the building behind his house. Investigators discover seven cars, a 22-foot ski boat, a luxury motor home. harley-davidson and 13 dirt bikes and buggies a taxidermy room 34 antique weapons and almost 200 pieces of sports memorabilia a piece of art stacked to the ceiling over 350 words we were stunned by the amount of stuff he had accumulated and The neighbors purchased watch as the items are labeled and removed so that he would not be behind bars.

His neighbors who were investors, the people he had taken advantage of, would sit on his front porch and watch this luxurious lifestyle. All these things just came out. from this place you want to talk about the ultimate insult must have been like rubbing salt in the wound after five months of walking three merriman is finally arrested and charged with one count of mail fraud he pleads guilty and on September 14, 2010 he is in a Full room to know your destiny. 30 investors are on site. Many of them share their own stories of pain and devastation with the court.

He wanted the judge to consider the ramifications of what happened. He did and to make him pay for as long as he could Shawn Merriman had told his mother that he had expected a light sentence since he turned himself in. Sally, who was defrauded, shows no mercy to her son and writes a letter urging the judge to do so. pay I remember thinking wow, that gives you an idea of ​​how deep and serious this crime was when his own mother wants a harsh sentence for her son Shawne Merriman is sentenced to the maximum 12 and a half years in prison for For many investors that is not enough, but for Merriman's for children it seems unimaginable.

The only thing I could think about was that my son will be 28 the next time he sees his father, that's the oldest and the youngest will grow up without his father and will be 15 or 16 before he really knows him, they lost all their life at a very young age. I think they had to live through something that no one should have to live through, the betrayal is deep. Andrea and her children have lost countless relationships with friends and family who were scammed by Shaun and have been the subject of many accusations despite being acquitted of any crime, Andrea Merriman was part of the plan.

I was one of the first questions we had, the first question we looked into and there was nothing anywhere that indicated that she knew what was going on it was a difficult time there were a lot of people angry with us I felt bad I felt guilty for being married to someone who would do something like that looking for a new start Andrea files for divorce and moves to Utah where she finds a job in public relations, eventually remarrying and building a new life, but since then I have decided to move forward every day, so which I think the key to surviving hard things is choosing to move forward and choosing to do. a new life from what you have left, even if you don't have much left.

The luxurious lifestyle that Andrea and her children once knew is gone forever, but the family has found happiness again in a form simpler life. having something bad to put your life in the right perspective and for me I grew up with everything I wanted and I was really worried about things like that and now I wish I had learned something important and been a better person because of it. Shawn Merriman has lost everything, his family, his fortune, even his religion, once an esteemed Bishop Merriman was excommunicated from his church, he violated the trust given to him in that position, he was excommunicated in just a few days, that's the most severe action that can be taken in the church the tragedy of this whole thing is the talents and the intelligence and the potential that he had to do anything, he could do so many things and selfishness, greed and pride took it all away. and now he was left with nothing at all. nothing, he's alone in a cell, no family, no money, no house, no cars, nothing but for Shawn Merriman's victims.

Many were robbed of their dreams, their future, and their security. Many victims lost everything. They lost their retirement savings. They lost children and grandchildren. University funds. Some of these people were retired and already well paid he liked to work they would find more jobs because they lost everything many of Merriman's assets were auctioned off but authorities say investors will be lucky to get pennies on the dollar back he is a sociopath he doesn't He doesn't care about anything except Shawn, he doesn't care that you invested your entire life with him after losing over 1 million dollars in the scam.

Gary couldn't make his mortgage payments and eventually lost his house. I hope I never have to look. he in the eye again and if he dies in prison yes, he got what he deserved Sally and Jack Merriman lost more than their retirement the pain remains and it is the betrayal of the parents the worst thing in a way is the death of your child, a child As you knew him he is gone, you can't open that door again and let him in. a scammer will be a scammer and you will know that the best way to protect yourself is to have nothing more to do with them, shawn.

Merriman sits in a prison cell in South Dakota. He is scheduled for release in August 2020. He became a real master thief, but master thieves get caught and he did it on April 8, 2009 in Aurora, Colorado, outside Denver, federal agents descend on home. shawn merriman was under investigation for financial fraud Neighbors and journalists watch as agents remove nearly 1,000 expensive items more than 350 works of art, including works by Rembrandt and Picasso, a ski motorhome and seven cars, including an Aston sports memorabilia Martin and taxidermy was like a giant garage sale there were things everywhere there were boxes there were trailers with cars, you know, it's an endless stream of luxury items, all bought with money that Merriman stole from his investors.

He was spending the money as fast as What was happening in the seizure marks the beginning of the end for Shawn Merriman, who has been living a double life for 15 years deceiving his own family, his church and his investors, leaving a path of destruction in its path without its approval. His investment generally did not. However, he began making unauthorized transactions with his clients because the pressure to produce got to him and at one point, we even considered letting him go because people were complaining that the transactions he was making were authorized by Merriman. A quick exit from Chatfield II and he lands a new job at investment banking firm George K, although he receives a signing bonus of fifty-four thousand dollars and returns to work in April 1993.

Sean and Andrea welcomed him to their first child eight months later, they bought their dream. In a sprawling five-bedroom house situated on three acres of land for Andrea and Shaun, everything seems to be going according to plan, but Merriman is hungry for more profits from American greed. Merriman launches her own investment business, but almost loses everything with his business. He went over her head quite quickly, which is where I think the panic came and Danerys, who worked at Chatfield Dean, remembers the high-risk environment. Chatfield Dean's environment in the early days was high energy, really sell, sell, sell, talk on the phone. make three hundred calls a day looking for that new client Merriman is one of 100 brokers hired here his salary is 100 percent commission the pressure to sell is intense brokers log 80-hour weeks making cold calls selling stocks in small, unknown companies new runners are coming.

In the business they are really looking for an opportunity to make a lot of money quickly and there is a lot of pressure to produce and if you are not producing you are going to lose your job. Sean proves to be an excellent salesman and quickly gained the trust of his investors and convinced them to give him their money. I remember in his first three months as a stockbroker I think he made between fifty and sixty thousand dollars, so he was pretty good at what he did, but what his clients didn't do. What I don't know is that Merriman is cutting corners and buying shares in the company, but long before Merriman becomes rich, he is just a blue-collar kid in a family of construction workers, the family is always on the go.

Merriman lives in nine cities in 13 years. The family moved a lot. I think they moved to where the jobs were. Andrea Merriman was married to Shawn for almost 20 years. Remember that Shawn came from humble beginnings and always had big plans for himself. He was just a go-getter even when a kid you know raised rabbits or did photography did all kinds of creative things to make money as a teenager Merriman finds religion and converts to Mormonism serves an 18-month mission in the Vietnamese community in Denver day day after day he preaches the Book of Mormon and then, as his mother, Sally, remembers, Merriman sets his sights on college, he likes the finer, more beautiful things in life and it simply prepared him to think that a career in finance would give him the way of life I wanted.

Merriman enrolls at Brigham. Young university student and economics major in 1987, he meets a classmate, Andrea Christensen, she was someone who wanted to do great things after a whirlwind romance. Shawn and Andrea are married, we had plans for the future and our entire lives ahead of us and that was the beginning. On the road to what I thought would be the fulfillment of all our dreams, the couple moves to the Denver suburbs and buys their first house in the spring of 1990. Shawn gets a job as a stockbroker at Chatfield Dean. Shawn's dream in life was to become a stockbroker and right out of college, he began working as a stockbroker in the 80's and 90's.

Chatfield Dean is one of the largest penny stock companies in the country. who sells risky, overvalued stocks to unsuspecting investors Jim