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SALT LAKE CITY — The alleged ringleader of a group accused of exploiting an elderly woman out more than $264,000 — a man recently paroled from prison after serving nearly 30 years for murder — has been arrested.
A spokeswoman with the Utah Department of Corrections confirmed that Frank Gene Powell, 50, was arrested Tuesday in California. No other details were released.
A warrant had been issued by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole for Powell’s arrest. Powell was released on parole in 2017 after spending 29 years in the Utah State Prison for the murder of a man in Utah County in 1987 that began as a fight over whose truck was faster.
Most recently, investigators believe Powell orchestrated a scheme that resulted in more than a quarter of a million dollars being taken from an 80-year-old St. George woman with a diminished mental capacity.
The victim met Powell in March after police say he knocked on her door and told her he believed her home needed repairs and he was willing to do it for a fee.
Related:
Man who served 29 years for murder wanted in exploitation case
Two more people were arrested and charged Friday in the case of a group accused of exploiting more than $264,000 from an elderly St. George woman.But the fees Powell and his associates charged the woman were exorbitant, a police affidavit states, and the work they did was either not completed, or in some cases done with such poor quality that “any reasonable person can see that these jobs will need to be redone” at a cost of several thousand dollars.
Furthermore, the elderly woman was allegedly “engaged” to Powell and had signed the family’s cabin over to him, according to court documents.
Already, Martell “Taz” Powell, 25, of Cedar City, and Rocky James Mott, 40, of Hurricane, Washington County, have each been charged in 5th District Court with exploitation of a vulnerable adult, a second-degree felony.
Faye Ann Renteria, 41, of St. George, was charged with 10 counts of exploitation of a vulnerable adult, nine second-degree felonies and one third-degree felony. Terrence Quincey Powell, 23, also of St. George, was charged with seven counts of exploitation of a vulnerable adult, one second-degree felony and six third-degree felonies.
