CACHE COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — Two elderly Utah men have admitted to attempting to defraud a vulnerable senior out of thousands of dollars.
Bruce William Anderson, 83, of Logan, and Robert Kenneth Yukes, 79, of Salt Lake City, pleaded guilty on September 22 to securities fraud, a second-degree felony.
The charges stemmed from a 2024 incident in which the pair allegedly tried to convince a 94-year-old man to invest money based on false and misleading information. Prosecutors say they attempted to take advantage of the victim’s age and cognitive decline.
Initially, both men were also charged with intentional financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult—a third-degree felony—but that count was dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Court records show that Anderson had two prior felony convictions for similar offenses involving financial exploitation of vulnerable adults. Neither Anderson nor Yukes were licensed to sell investments and were already under a Cease and Desist Order from Utah’s Division of Securities prohibiting them from offering securities in the state.
According to investigators, on November 9, 2024, the defendants contacted their longtime acquaintance, identified as “M.T.,” a 94-year-old Logan resident living with his daughter, who manages his finances. M.T. had previously given the pair $30,000 for a fake investment tied to “wrongfully sequestered funds” in Africa — money he never recovered.
During the recorded phone call, Yukes promised M.T. extraordinary returns, claiming a friend had developed a product based on Russian technology that would earn $1 million monthly from the city of Houston. He told M.T. he could receive a 300% return in one year if he invested $100,000 — or even $50,000.
Anderson reportedly told Yukes, “Er ist zu alt” (“he is too old”), after noticing M.T.’s confusion. The victim did not agree to invest further and later reported the incident through his daughter to Utah’s Division of Securities.
Following an investigation, both men were formally charged on June 13, 2025. Investigators determined the claims made to M.T. were false and that the defendants knowingly targeted someone who could not fully understand the investment pitch.
At their September 22, 2025, sentencing, a judge suspended prison time and placed Anderson and Yukes on 36 months of probation. Each must also pay a $5,000 fine as part of their plea agreement.
