Imagine thinking you’re investing in seized Lamborghinis or government-owned oil wells—only to find out none of it was real.
That’s the shocking story behind a Utah man who pulled off a massive scam stretching across several years and nearly a dozen victims.
Santiago Garcia Gutierrez, from Salt Lake City, has just been sentenced to over nine years in prison for a complicated web of fraud that involved impersonating federal agents, identity theft, and swindling millions of dollars.
A Multi-Million Dollar Fantasy
From 2018 to 2020, Garcia convinced one victim to hand over more than $2.8 million, claiming he was a confidential informant working with the Department of Homeland Security.
His pitch? That he had access to exotic government-seized assets—think private jets, luxury cars, and boats—available for sale at deep discounts.
He positioned himself as a kind of insider who could make those deals happen.
But instead of securing dream assets, Garcia was pocketing the cash and spinning an elaborate fiction.
To make things feel more legitimate, he even texted his victim from different phone numbers, pretending to be everything from a federal agent to his own lawyer.
The Fraud Didn’t Stop There
But that wasn’t the end of it. From 2019 to 2024, Garcia took his con nationwide, tricking eight more people into investing in so-called federal oil wells he falsely claimed to have ownership stakes in.
He promised big returns and federal legitimacy—but again, there were no profits.
He simply siphoned off another $900,000 for his own use.
And to keep these new investors comfortable? He reused the same trick—impersonating a lawyer, spinning stories, and crafting a polished front that masked the entire scam.
Dodging the Government All Along
As if defrauding investors wasn’t enough, Garcia also failed to pay royalties on the oil he did extract from those wells.
Even though he knew the money was owed to the federal government, he chose to ignore his legal obligations, digging his hole even deeper.
The Final Verdict and Price to Pay
This week, a federal judge handed Garcia a 108-month prison sentence, marking the end of his long-running scam.
But prison time isn’t the only thing he’s facing.
He’s also been ordered to repay nearly $3.8 million to his victims and forfeit over $2.85 million in assets tied to his crimes.
Federal Agents Break the Case
The investigation was carried out by the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Phoenix Field Office and the EPA, with prosecution led by members of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
Their work brought Garcia’s decade-long deception to a halt and gave some closure to the people he misled and robbed.