Man accused of stealing paintings, forging checks from mother to open restaurant

PLEASANT GROVE — An Orem man is accused of stealing valuable paintings and forging a $75,000 check from his elderly mother to help fund his new restaurant in Salt Lake County.

Loren Michael Bell, 53, was charged Wednesday in 4th District with 14 felony crimes, including theft, two counts of sale of stolen property, two counts of criminal simulation, two counts of communications fraud, three counts of money laundering, financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity and two counts of theft, all second-degree felonies; and forgery, a third-degree felony.

According to charging documents, in late 2022 or early 2023, in Pleasant Grove, Bell took two paintings from his mother, who was 78 at the time. The paintings were by artist Minerva Teichert, who specialized in art themed around The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The stolen paintings were “Portrait of Sara Kohlepp” and “Roses.”

Bell told his mother that he was taking the paintings to the BYU Museum of Fine Arts to have them cleaned, the charges state.

“Instead, he took the ‘Portrait of Sara Kohlepp’ to an art dealer … and sold it to him,” for $100,000, according to charging documents. The “Roses” painting was sold for $15,000 to a fine art gallery in Salt Lake City.

Bell had prints of each painting made before selling the artwork and replaced the original paintings in his mother’s home with the prints, the charges state.

“The switch went undetected until approximately April 2025, when (another son) noticed that the original paintings had been replaced with prints. (Bell) admitted he used the proceeds from the sale of the ‘Portrait of Sara Kohlepp’ and ‘Roses’ to invest in his restaurant,” according to charging documents.

Prosecutors further note in their charges that the mother had already provided Bell with several loans starting in 2018 to help him open his South Salt Lake restaurant. She “estimates her loans to (Bell) included numerous payments that totaled approximately $1 million,” the charges state. “Initially, (she) was willing to loan money to (him). But (Bell) began using emotional pressure and threats to cut off assistance to coerce (her) to continue to provide financing for his restaurant. (She) continued to provide the loans to (Bell) out of fear,” the charges state.

In February of 2024, Bell tried to pressure his mother into giving him an additional $75,000 to help open his restaurant.

“(She) contacted her attorney and had a promissory note prepared in the amount of $1,075,000. She brought the promissory note and a blank check to a meeting with (her son) and told him she would loan him $75,000, but only if he agreed to sign the promissory note. (Bell) took the check from (his mother) and refused to sign the promissory note,” the charges state. “(He) later made the check out to himself for $75,000 and signed it without (the) victim’s authorization.”

Investigators say Bell then “transferred approximately $43,300 of the proceeds to his personal account instead of using the money to finance his restaurant. The remainder was spent on restaurant-related expenses. (He) has not repaid any of the money he received from (the) victim.”