Former Utah Rep. Trevor Lee makes 1st court appearance to face felony fraud charges

Former Utah Rep. Trevor Lee appeared in court Wednesday to answer charges including forgery and mortgage fraud for the first time since prosecutors filed the case a month ago. 

Lee, who resigned from the Utah Legislature the day he was charged, showed little emotion as he stood next to his attorney during the brief court hearing. He smiled slightly as he greeted the court commissioner. 

One of the most hard-right Republicans during his almost four years in the Legislature, Lee sponsored some of the most controversial bills on Utah’s Capitol Hill while he represented Layton and South Weber areas of Davis County. Some of his most inflammatory efforts included unsuccessful bills targeting undocumented immigrants and transgender Utahns. 

He lost his reelection bid during the June primaries prior to the charges being filed, so he already wasn’t returning to the Legislature next year before he resigned.

Lee did not enter pleas Wednesday to four felony charges of forging employment documents to obtain a home loan and left 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City without comment.

Judges in Utah typically don’t ask for a plea to felony charges until they order someone to stand trial following a preliminary hearing. In Lee’s case, that could be months away. 

Commissioner Melissa Stirba told Lee to schedule a time to be booked and released from the Salt Lake County jail, but his attorney Kathryn Nester replied he’d already done so. Stirba directed Lee to get back in touch with the jail to obtain a tracking number for the case. 

Former Rep. Trevor Lee had his first appearance in court this morning to face the felony charges that have been filed against him alleging mortgage fraud. #utpol

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— Katie McKellar (@kmckellar.bsky.social) October 28, 2026 at 9:34 AM

The charges 

The Utah Attorney General’s Office alleges Lee had requested $93,000 in cash advances from Trent Spafford, CEO of the water treatment company Enevive, to show higher income in order to get a home mortgage. 

“Lee said he would make Spafford ‘whole’ by securing Spafford’s company a government contract with Hill Air Force Base,” the charging documents say.

Spafford told investigators the documents attached to Lee’s mortgage application from his company were fraudulent and that his signature was forged. Prosecutors said Lee’s loan documents secured him a $1 million conventional loan structured as a refinance, returning more than $317,000 in cash to Lee.

Lee also indicated he was the sales director of another water treatment company, Blue Logic, charging documents say. But a representative for the company told investigators Lee was actually a contract employee and a letter suggesting he had a job offer there was prepared to “help Lee as a friend” and was not accurate. 

The case follows allegations earlier this year from Spafford and another of Lee’s former employers ahead of the Davis County Republican Party Nominating Convention, when they called on voters not to reelect him. 

‘How does it feel to be such a massive hypocrite?’

Rosie Card, of Salt Lake County, recorded a video of Lee walking out of the courtroom for her Instagram page, where she posts about Utah politics to more than 50,000 followers. 

“Trevor, how does it feel to be such a massive hypocrite?” Card asked Lee. 

Lee stayed silent as he walked alongside Nester, a prominent Utah defense attorney who is also representing Charlie Kirk’s alleged shooter, Tyler Robinson. 

Card criticized Lee for sponsoring “some of Utah’s worst laws, targeting some of the most vulnerable communities” while accusing him of being a “fraud.” 

Lee earlier this year unsuccessfully ran a bill that would have sought to block undocumented immigrants from being able to access a wide range of publicly funded assistance programs that don’t currently require proof of citizenship for people seeking help. He said at the time the goal of the legislation was to make life in the state harder for unauthorized immigrants. 

This year he also sponsored a bill that failed to gain traction that would have erased transgender protections from state law — and another failed bill to rename a Salt Lake City street named after Harvey Milk to Charlie Kirk Boulevard.

Lee last year also sponsored the state’s controversial flag ban in public schools and government buildings, which he said at the time was to encourage “political neutrality,” but critics argued its main purpose was to prohibit LGBTQ+ symbols in public buildings. 

Utah lawmaker wants to cut off resources for undocumented immigrants to get them to ‘self-deport’

Lee didn’t answer reporters’ questions about the charges and didn’t offer any comment outside the courtroom Wednesday. He wore an expressionless face while he walked down the hall with his hands in his pockets. 

After Lee left the courthouse, Card told Utah News Dispatch she came to film his appearance because she watched Lee, during his time as a legislator, “target vulnerable communities, waste our tax dollars, waste our time.” 

“There is something so rich to watch someone who does something like that stand in court for two felonies,” she said. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” 

Lee’s case has a long way to go in court before there will be any resolution to the charges. He has yet to enter a plea. 

“I hope he sees justice,” Card said. 

Lee is charged with one count each of communications fraud and  mortgage fraud, both second-degree felonies carrying a possible penalty of one to 15 years in prison. Additionally, he faces one count each of forgery and possession of a forgery device, third-degree felonies. A conviction carries up to five years in prison.

Lee returns to court Nov. 23 for a scheduling conference.