Republican State Representative Trevor Lee resigned from the Utah House of Representatives on Monday, effective immediately, after the Utah Attorney General's Office filed four felony charges against him. The charges, which include fraud and forgery, are tied to the mortgage for a newly constructed home in Layton.
Felony Charges and Potential Penalties
Lee, 35, faces two second-degree felonies—communications fraud and mortgage fraud—and two third-degree felonies—forgery and possession of a forging device. The second-degree counts carry potential penalties of up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, while the third-degree charges carry up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Legal Consequences for Lee
If convicted, Lee could face a suspended prison sentence combined with 60 to 180 days of actual time in county jail, which could be served through electronic monitoring or work release. The conviction would also carry a requirement of three to five years of intensive probation and a decade on the state's White Collar Crime Offender Registry.
The Layton Mansion Investigation
The criminal investigation centers on Lee's newly constructed 5,836-square-foot home in Layton, located at 1399 E 3250 N. The property, which features eight bedrooms and five bathrooms on over a third of an acre, has a Redfin valuation of $1,378,337. Prosecutors allege Lee engaged in a scheme to obtain a $1 million conventional loan through false pretenses, which was structured as a refinance that returned $317,190.99 in cash to Lee.
Fabricated Income and Forgery
According to charging documents, Lee provided fraudulent documents to Kind Lending LLC to secure the loan. This included a forged employment contract from Enevive and a Blue Logic offer letter that did not reflect genuine or payable income. Investigators found that Lee's reported income from Enevive was significantly higher than his actual earnings; while he reported a monthly salary of $13,761, his 2024 W-2 showed his total annual wages from the company were $55,634.59.
Deception of Local Companies
The investigation highlights specific instances of deception involving two companies. Blue Logic, a water treatment company, told investigators that Lee had requested an offer letter to help obtain a home loan despite never accepting an offer. The company noted the letter was prepared as a favor to a friend and was not accurate. Enevive, another water treatment company, stated that the employment contract Lee submitted was fraudulent and that his signature had been forged.
Allegations of Public Corruption
Charging documents reveal that Lee allegedly requested $93,000 in cash advances from Trent Spafford, the CEO of Enevive, to artificially inflate his income for the mortgage application. Lee reportedly told Spafford he would make the CEO 'whole' by securing Spafford's company a government contract with Hill Air Force Base.
History of Allegations Against Lee
The investigation was prompted by accusations made on social media in April by Spafford. This followed a separate allegation from a former employer regarding a 2013 check-fraud incident while Lee worked for a pest control company. Lee previously admitted to the 2013 incident, describing it as 'dishonest' behavior from his college years, but he has denied the more recent allegations of improper business dealings.
