A Former BYU Linebacker is Arrested on Wire Fraud Charges of $2.0 Million, Then Hindenburg Research Drops a 7,000-Word Bombshell Report to "Shed More Light on Aaron Wagner," Wags Capital, and More

On Wednesday, 23 October 2024, felony wire fraud charges were filed in U.S. District Court, District of Utah against 42-year-old Aaron A. Wagner (a former linebacker at Brigham Young University), alleging the electronic misappropriation of $2.0 million.

As noted in the Salt Lake Sheriff's Inmate Database Search tool, Wagner was arrested the following day. {NOTE: Simply enter Aaron as the First Name and Wagner as the Last Name, then click on the Booking Number to find the data shown below.}

Then yesterday, Monday, 28 October 2024, Hindenburg Research published a 7,000-word report titled "Aaron Wagner And Wags Capital: From Pro Football To Utah’s Latest Disgraced Financial Influencer."

Given its famous/infamous reputation as a forensic financial research firm not afraid to put its wallet where its reporting takes it, Hindenburg has become known for its deep-dive

"... investigations (that) have preceded SEC fraud charges against 64 individuals, Department of Justice criminal indictments against 14 individuals, and foreign regulator sanctions and fraud charges against 4 individuals."

According to both the complaint filed against Wagner in U.S. District Court and the Hindenburg writeup, Wagner apparently conducted his fundraising efforts primarily through a company known as Wags Capital, along with other entities apparently owned or controlled by Wagner.

As reported by Hindenberg, and verified by Utah Money Watch, as recently as September 2023, the Wags Capital website reported that it had

• Over $1 billion under management,
• Over $2 billion in transactions, with
• Over 1,000 employees,
• Supporting over 40 brands,
• Across more than 15 states.

But according to the Hindenburg report, many of those claims are spurious at best.

Wagner, BYU, Utah and More

Wagner's ties to Utah trace back to his 2003 transfer to Brigham Young University from Washington State University, following his full-time service in Las Vegas, Nevada as a volunteer missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Wagner transferred to BYU to play linebacker for Bronco Mendenhall, the Defensive Coordinator of the Provo, Utah-based Cougar football team from 2003—2005, and then as its Head Coach for BYU's 11—2 season in 2006.

In fact, Wagner was the second leading tackler on the BYU squad in 2006, with 43 solo tackles and 75 tackles in total during his senior season with the team.

According to his LinkedIn Profile, Wagner landed an unsigned free agent contract with the New York Jets after playing for BYU and then went on to play in the Canadian football League for three seasons.

After he left professional sports, his LinkedIn Profile shows that Wagner launched Wags Capital in January 2010.

And that profile for the firm says:

"WAGS CAPITAL is multi- faceted boutique Investment firm specializing in Real Estate, Food & Beverage and Private Equity, in emerging markets with asymmetrical risk/reward and value add strategies. We value and prioritize relationships above all else and are in constant pursuit of strategic, residual and meaningful business relationships."

The Wags Capital LinkedIn Profile concludes by stating, "Our team is always looking for unique projects and top notch people."

So ... is Wagner guilty of the charges that have been brought against him?

I have no idea.

However, the depth and breadth of Hindenburg's report into Wagner and his money-raising activities is quite mind-numbing, so I encourage you to read it. {See the link below.}

But as of this morning, especially in light of the Hindenburg writeup and the felony charges Wagner faces, I must admit that the alleged wrongdoing appears quite damning.

Hence, after you check-out the report from Hindenburg Research, I'd love your thoughts on what you read, either as a comment below or via social media.

Thanks.

Author's Note:

In general, Utah Money Watch does not publish items about alleged malfeasance (legal or otherwise). Rather, we wait until a conviction occurs, a defendant pleads guilty, and/or sentencing takes place.

However, the charges brought against Wagner (plus the Hindenburg Research writeup) are quite compelling.

For these reasons, plus the fact that I had a trusted friend and seasoned food industry investor advise caution after I met Wagner in September 2021 following the Wags Capital pledge of a $20 million investment into Dirty Bird Fried Chxx ... well, let's just say I'm more skeptical today than I was back in 2021.

Publisher's Note

Are you interested in timely Utah-focused monetary, financial, and/or business news, context, and analysis, content NOT currently available through any other source?

Then you should become a subscriber to Utah Money Watch. Today!

Simply,

1. Click on a "Subscribe" button on any Utah Money Watch webpage,
2. Enter in your name in the proper field in the popup window that appears on-screen, and
3. Enter your preferred email address in the proper field too.

That's it. And "Yes," it really is that simple.

And it IS free ... for now, at least.

So we hope to see you join us as a subscriber of Utah Money Watch.

Thanks.

Team Utah Money Watch

P.S. For context, the purpose of Utah Money Watch is to publish news, information, context, and analysis NOT available through any other source.

[You might think of us as the inverse of Bloomberg, CNBC, and/or The Wall Street Journal. In other words, we are passionately focused on uncovering the most important monetary, financial, and/or business news and information that impact the organizations and people of Utah first, followed by regional news/info second, and national/international info/news last of all.]

To that end, this article/report was originally published and distributed to our Subscribers at approximately 7:20am (MT) on Tuesday, 29 October 2024.

However, if this report/article came to your attention sometime after this date/time and you'd like to change that, then to become a subscriber, please follow the steps above.

Thx. DLP