In 2023, Utah-based businessman Aaron Wagner was making a name for himself in the Valley.
The entrepreneur projected a lavish lifestyle on social media, posting pictures of private jets, supercars and ribbon cuttings at luxe restaurants. Wagner claimed he managed $1 billion in real estate, restaurants and other investments through his firm, Wags Capital. He was only getting started.
He’d bought a sliver of valuable land in Old Town Scottsdale, where he hoped to build a three-story restaurant and bar. And he partnered with a local hospitality group to build a nightclub in downtown Gilbert…