DENVER, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- The belongings of an admitted Colorado Ponzi schemer went up for auction to help compensate the victims of his $37 million fraud, auction house officials said.
The Denver auctioneers, Dickensheet and Associates, auctioned items Saturday confiscated by the U.S. Marshals Service from Shawn Merriman, who was sentenced to 12 1/2 years in prison last September after pleading guilty to federal charges he defrauded friends, family and fellow church members, The Denver Post reported.
Merriman, a 47-year-old former bishop with the Church of the Latter Day Saints from Aurora, spent the money on a lavish lifestyle that included antiques, dirt bikes and classic cars, the Post reported.
More than 1,700 registered bidders competed for the items up for auction, including a 2006 Aston Martin, a 1930 Lincoln Phaeton convertible, a 1932 Ford Highboy, antique signs and a softball pitching machine, the Post reported.
