Prosecutors say a South Salt Lake restaurateur turned family heirlooms into startup cash, and not in a way the law allows.
Loren Michael Bell, 53, owner of South Salt Lake’s Contento Cafe, was charged Wednesday after prosecutors said he stole two paintings from his elderly mother and forged checks to help bankroll his restaurant. According to charging documents, investigators allege he took two works by Utah artist Minerva Teichert from a Pleasant Grove home, sold them, then hung printed copies in their place. Bell now faces 14 felony counts, including theft, sale of stolen property, money laundering, and financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult.
Prosecutors allege Bell removed the paintings in late 2022 or early 2023, having prints made so his mother would not notice the originals were gone. Charging papers state that he then sold “Portrait of Sara Kohlepp” for $100,000 and “Roses” for $15,000. Investigators say Bell told his mother he was taking the pieces to Brigham Young University’s Museum of Art for cleaning, but instead sold one painting to an art dealer and the other to a Salt Lake gallery. Those details are laid out in the charging documents and reported by KSL…