Southern Utah Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison and Restitution of ~$77.7 Million after Defrauding 200+ Investors of $89 Million Since August 2023

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

✅ Matthew Shane Perkins of Washington City, Utah, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $77.7 million in restitution after pleading guilty to wire fraud.

✅ More than 200 investors placed at least $89 million into an investment operation involving Perkins' Forged Oak LLC and St. George-based RentDue Capital LLC between August 2023 and November 2025.

✅ Perkins admitted to concealing tens of millions of dollars in trading losses. In November 2025, an altered brokerage statement showed more than $133 million in investor funds when less than $13 million actually remained.

✅ A separate civil securities action brought by the Utah Division of Securities against RentDue Capital, Perkins, and several other people and related entities is pending.

9 September 2026 — St. George, Utah — A Southern Utah man who portrayed himself as a highly successful stock trader has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $77.7 million in restitution after admitting to a wire fraud investment scheme that took in at least $89 million from more than 200 investors.

According to a sentencing announcement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah, Matthew Shane Perkins, 47, of Washington City, Utah, was sentenced last Wednesday, 2 September 2026, in U.S. District Court by Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen.

{AUTHOR'S NOTE: Judge Allen primarily serves in the Court's southern region in St. George; Perkins pled guilty to wire fraud in February.}

In addition to his 180-month prison term, Perkins was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay ~$77.68 million in restitution to his victims.

Federal prosecutors said many of the investors lost their life savings.

At Least $89 Million Obtained in Just Over Two Years

The scale and speed of the investment operation were substantial.

Court records show that between August 2023 and November 2025, Perkins fraudulently obtained at least $89 million from over 200 investors.

Perkins operated Forged Oak LLC and established a business arrangement with the principal of St. George-based RentDue Capital LLC.

RentDue Capital recruited investors into three separate investment funds through social media, its website and meetings with investors. After receiving investor money, the principal of RentDue Capital sent the funds to Perkins to day trade, according to federal authorities.

According to prosecutors on the case, Perkins represented himself as a "brilliant trader who consistently beat the market and rarely suffered losing days."

As noted in his STATEMENT BY DEFENDANT IN ADVANCE OF PLEA OF GUILTY AND PLEA AGREEMENT (recorded 2 February 2026), Perkins admitted he lost tens of millions of dollars through day trading while repeatedly providing RentDue Capital with false information about the performance and balances of the investment funds.

That included falsified daily trading records and altered brokerage statements.

And by early November 2025, the difference between what Perkins reported and what actually existed had become enormous.

Specifically,

🟥  Perkins provided RentDue Capital with an altered brokerage statement representing that the funds contained more than $133 million;

🟥  However, in reality, the accounts Perkins controlled held less than $13 million;

🟥  A negative difference of over $120 million; which

🟥  Was more than 10 times the money that remained.

Perkins acknowledged the extent of the losses himself in his guilty plea.

"I lost or misappropriated all but approximately $13 million in investors' funds," Perkins stated in his official STATEMENT BY DEFENDANT IN ADVANCE OF PLEA OF GUILTY AND PLEA AGREEMENT.

Investor Money Also Funded Perkins' Personal Spending

Not all of the missing money disappeared through unsuccessful trading.

Federal prosecutors said Perkins also misappropriated millions of dollars in investor funds for personal expenses.

According to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Utah, those expenditures included a down payment on a home, a cabin, luxury vehicles and an airplane, as well as an $80,000 hunting trip in British Columbia, Canada.

As part of his February plea agreement, Perkins agreed to forfeit over $13 million, along with an airplane, a cabin and multiple vehicles traceable to the fraud.

That $13 million-plus forfeiture figure is considerably smaller than the $77.68 million in restitution Perkins has now been ordered to pay.

And therein lies a significant unanswered financial question for the more than 200 victims:

How much money will be recovered?

The Broader RentDue Capital Matter Is Not Resolved

Although Perkins has now been sentenced in the federal criminal case, a broader securities matter involving RentDue Capital remains unresolved.

The Utah Division of Securities has filed a separate civil action against RentDue Capital LLC, Forged Oak LLC, Perkins, Jeffrey Jace Vernon, Talease Perkins, and several related investment entities.

Among other remedies, the state is seeking

🔴  Restitution,

🔴  Disgorgement of allegedly ill-gotten gains,

🔴  Civil monetary penalties, and

🔴  An asset freeze.

The Division of Securities emphasizes that no determination of liability has been made in its civil case other than matters addressed by the court in a preliminary injunction order.

It also says Perkins is the only person criminally charged in connection with the matter thus far.

As for whether Perkins' victims will eventually recover their nearly $77.7 million in losses, Utah securities regulators offered this sobering assessment:

"Realistically, however, the chance of full recovery is very low."

Publisher's Note

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