SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah man who has been previously accused of scamming nearly $200,000 from a romantic partner is now facing additional felony charges as more victims come forward with experiences of sexual abuse.
In two cases filed this week, Nathanael Reid Holzapfel was charged with two counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second degree felony, and three counts of Lewdness.
The charges come after Holzapfel was accused in October 2021 of scamming a "vulnerable" romantic partner out of her home equity while he was still married to another woman.
Read - Utah entrepreneur charged with scamming 'vulnerable' romantic partner out of home equity
In March 2022, investigators announced they had learned of multiple other victims that he had stolen money from and Holzapfel was charged with two counts of theft and two counts of forcible sexual abuse.
Read - Utah man accused of scamming $200k from woman now charged with theft, sexual abuse
In the two new cases released Thursday, arrest documents detail situations in which Holzapfel exposed himself and made unwanted advances towards two separate women.
The first case occurred between October and November in 2021, when Holzapfel touched the victim in a sexual way without consent and made inappropriate comments on multiple occasions, arrest documents report. He faces one count of forcible sexual abuse and three counts of lewdness for that case.
The second case occurred in July 2021 when Holzapfel met a victim at a music concert.
The victim told Holzapfel he was "very touchy," to which he replied, "that he was trying to desensetize [the] victim," arrest documents state.
Holzapfel asked to see the bus where the victim was staying and then made unwanted sexual advances. Holzapfel was charged with one count of forcible sexual abuse for that case.
Holzapfel was booked into the Utah County jail with no request for bail.
Investigators say they are seeing a pattern of criminal activity in Holzapfel's actions and urge other victims to come forward.
“We'll continue to investigate as victims come forward. I admire the courage of that first victim who persisted, even when law enforcement told her the matter was a civil complaint and should be dropped. Clearly, with additional victims continuing to come forward, we are seeing a pattern of criminal activity that resulted in many victims and multiple felony cases. We look forward to proving each case in Court,” said County Attorney David Leavitt. “We also hope that Mr. Holzapfel will continue to be held in jail to keep the community safe."
If you or someone you know was victimized by Holzapfel, contact the Utah County Attorney's Office Bureau of Investigations by calling 801-851-8069 or emailing colec@utahcounty.gov
Mission Belt, a company that Holzapfel co-founded, sent the following statement to FOX 13 News:
"Nate Holzapfel has not been associated with Mission Belt for more than eight years and has no dealings with any of its employees, managers, or customers. Nate Holzapfel does not represent Mission Belt in any capacity.
"Mission Belt is a small Utah business that is dedicated to making quality belts and helping people in need through micro-lending. To date, Mission Belt has extended almost 6 million dollars in loans in over 80 countries to more than 200,000 individuals.
"We are passionate about belts and our Mission to give a hand up to those in need. Nate Holzapfel does not represent Mission Belt or its values."
