Defrauding the government of COVID relief funds is the latest allegation against the former owner of the now closed Scooters Pizza and Grub in Vernal. Lee Anglin was arrested on a federal arrest warrant on May 29th on North Vernal Avenue during a traffic stop. His wife, Jenni Anglin, was booked into Uintah County Jail that day on felony drug charges and tampering with evidence for intentionally disposing of illegal narcotics in a nearby day care facility. Lee Anglin spent over a decade in prison for cheating real estate investors out of over $10 million dollars and was released in 2018. He left the Chicago area headed for Utah and eventually ended up in Vernal. Anglin’s indictment last week alleges that from 2020 through 2022 he obtained Paycheck Protection Program loans for various companies using false information. The charges state that the amount in question is over $1.9 million dollars. Five of the loans were not approved but several were and Anglin did receive $950,000 dollars. The indictment claims that the PPP loans were obtained “for various companies using false borrower information with the intent to steal and to convert the proceeds of those loans to his personal use and unauthorized purposes.” It also states that the applications used “false statements, misrepresentation, deception and omissions of material facts” and then the funds were used “for his personal benefit”. Court records show that the Anglins have a history of outstanding debt obligations, tax issues, and eviction and Lee Anglin has earned the title of “Wheeler-dealer” and “scam artist” by the Chicago Sun Times for his reputation in the Chicago area.
