Aaron Wagner of Wags Capital jailed on fraud charges
Aaron Wagner of Lehi-based Wags Capital has been jailed on a federal wire fraud charge.
The businessman, booked into the Salt Lake County jail Thursday, had crafted a scheme, according to the complaint, "to defraud private investors and lenders in restaurant businesses managed" by WagsCap Food, the investment firm he helped manage.
He is accused of using $2 million from an investor intended for a restaurant venture to help purchase an $8.3 million airplane.
Wags Capital's investment in food and beverage brands include Village Baker, Crumbl Cookies, Kokonut Island Grill, Everbowl, and Dirty Bird Chxx.
WagsCap Food and Wagner, a former BYU football player, are also sued by investors for breach of contract in a separate matter.
Survey shows majority of Utahns expect election to be administered well
A new survey out of Utah shows that 73% of voters, including 90% of Vice President Kamala Harris' supporters, expect the election will be administered well, while 57% of former President Donald Trump's supporters feel the same.
According to research out of Utah Valley University, one concern related to election security and disinformation is the presence of AI-generated deepfakes.
From 2019 to 2023, the number of deepfakes online increased by 552%, with research indicating that deepfake content will continue to increase.
William Freedman, a research assistant at UVU's Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy says "The rise of deepfake content has made it harder to find reliable sources and has increased distrust in online information.”
Findings indicate people aren't proficient in identifying deepfakes. In fact, over 50% of participants rated deepfake content as "probably real" or "definitely real," even after being informed there was a chance that they had seen a deepfake.
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