A judge sent an Orem man to prison Friday, rejecting a plea deal calling for probation. The former 'Shark Tank' contestant pleaded guilty to fraud and sexual battery involving vulnerable women.
PROVO — Victims embraced in a Provo courtroom Friday as the man they called a predator, a swindler and a fraud was handcuffed and taken away by a bailiff.
Fourth District Judge Thomas Low said that agreement allowing Holzapfel to withdraw the guilty plea is "directly contrary to Utah law." He said since the plea arrangements were not approved by him before the plea was entered, Holzapfel cannot withdraw his guilty pleas and he rejected motions to do so by Holzapfel's attorney, Nathan Crane.
He said when the plea was entered, he made it clear to Holzapfel that the court was not bound to follow the terms of the plea.As three victims told their stories in court and their experiences with Holzapfel were similar.
"He needs to be stopped," she told the judge. "I beg you, this court, to please protect the most vulnerable in society."Holzapfel began his statements to the court on Friday by saying the victims who spoke "are some of the nicest people in the whole darn world, just lovely, nice people, and I'm so sorry that they've gotten drug into this."
In his plea, Holzapfel admitted to defrauding a woman he was dating between February and November 2020 and convincing two other women to invest in his businesses, yet he didn't pass any investment returns to them. Deputy Utah County attorney Pete Reichman said prosecutors' objective when reaching the plea deal was for Holzapfel to take accountability, to protect the public and to get money for the victims.
"You're the victim here, and from what I've read, you've been severely victimized," he told the woman. Holzapfel admitted in the plea deal to touching the breast of one woman and the buttocks of two different women in 2020 and 2021, but Turnbow said the plea deal, which downgraded the charge associated with her case to sexual battery, does not accurately represent her experiences.
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