Utah man accused of scamming people out of nearly $10 million

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4) — The Utah Division of Consumer Protection is accusing a Utah man of scamming nearly $10 million from people across the country.

According to a complaint filed with the fourth district court, Parker Wilde of Utah County is accused of “operating a scheme” to convince consumers to pay him tens of thousands of dollars in consulting and inventory fees to set up automated Amazon stores. They say he promised consumers big returns as passive income yet found not a single consumer made a profit working with him.

Their investigation included 28 complaints filed with DCP, 17 of them from Utah. They say that Wilde received $9.2 million during this scheme that ran from 2018 to at least 2023.

Since following this story, dozens of alleged victims have reached out to ABC4. This includes Brook Talbot of Texas who says he’s out around $106,000 from dealing with Wilde. Talbot claims after paying the consulting fee and paying for inventory for three products, he never saw any returns or the store actually get up and running 12 months later.

He explained, “Still no products. We’re not getting updates anymore. I know when we call, he doesn’t have any employees. There’s nobody there.”

Amber Edmondson of Utah told a similar story, “Since he stopped responding to everything, his team was gone. His communication platform got shut down. Like everything halted. Nothing was selling. I was still getting lots of charges. So then at that point, I was like, ‘dang.’”

Dylan Cox of Vineyard, Utah explained he first heard from Wilde via LinkedIn. It was their mutual alma mater in BYU and Wilde’s background as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that made him seem trustworthy.

Cox said he first paid Wilde $2,000 for an online course to learn how to set up his own Amazon shop. But later, the course disappeared. He then paid Wilde $6,000 to have him set up a store for him, but never saw it come to fruition. He described, “Eight grand with nothing to show for it.”

Along with offering classes and taking consulting and inventory fees to set up Amazon stores from these alleged victims, Wilde is also accused of getting credit card information and using it to make unauthorized purchases. Edmondson claims Wilde tried to charge $15,000 from her card that ultimately got declined.

Alleged victims all across Utah and even New Jersey, all telling ABC4 similar stories. Losses ranging from the tens of thousands to the hundreds of thousands.

ABC4 spoke with Wilde on the phone but he declined the interview ahead of the deadline for this story, offering to meet in person early next week.

He cited questions about the legitimacy of our request and told us, “I’m not just going to jump on a random phone call. I don’t know if this is even legit or who you are.” Wilde was sent proof of our credentials but didn’t respond to set up that future interview. He did claim, “I would be more than happy to on Monday or Tuesday, provide the reality. Not even my side, but the actual reality so that you could understand.”

Tim Johnston of the Better Business Bureau told ABC4 that a scheme like this can get anyone. He explained, “We’re drawn to the potential for making some good money.” But he continued saying any promised returns should be your biggest red flag, “Guaranteed returns are not possible in investments, and so if somebody is offering that, it’s a red flag.”

The Division of Consumer Protection outlined 10 different violations against Wilde and his business practices. The case is still active. 18 Utahns have already filed their own suits against him.