Man shot at Utah temple was subject of Ponzi probe

SALT LAKE CITY – A Salt Lake City attorney says the man fatally shot by police outside a Mormon temple on Christmas Day was being investigated and sued on suspicion of scamming real estate investors.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported Wednesday that Daniel Pogue was the subject of an FBI investigation and debt collection lawsuit filed in 3rd District Court.

Danny Quintana, a Salt Lake City attorney representing one of Pogue's alleged victims, told the newspaper the scheme was designed to scam investors who had been promised prime real estate deals.

Quintana says he wonders if Pogue had reached the end of his rope when he went to the Oquirrh Mountain LDS Temple wielding weapons.

Ernest Moffitt, Pogue's best friend, denied the fraud allegations and said illness, not the pending lawsuit or FBI case, caused Pogue's erratic behavior.

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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com