A judge has dismissed 20 felony charges filed in Duchesne County against real estate developers Frank Joseph Steed Sr. and Joan A. Steed.

The Steeds were charged in November 2009 with five counts each of engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity and five counts each of communications fraud, all second-degree felonies. The charges stemmed from an investigation by the Utah Division of Consumer Protection.

Judge Lyle Anderson dismissed the charges Thursday at the request of Duchesne County prosecutor Grant Charles.

Neither Charles nor the Steeds attorney, Richard Van Wagoner, had returned calls seeking comment on the case as of Friday afternoon.

In May 2011, Max Wheeler, another attorney for the Steeds, said the case would be dismissed once the couple paid refunds owed to the alleged victims.

Frank and Joan Steed were convicted by a Salt Lake County jury in September 2010 of one count each of engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, a second-degree felony, and three counts each of failure to file a timely or proper tax return, a third-degree felony.

A jury found them not guilty of tax evasion.

The couple is appealing their convictions.

Frank Steed began serving a one year jail sentence in Salt Lake City on May 20, 2011. He was later moved to the Wasatch County Jail to serve the remainder of his sentence and was granted work release. Upon the completion of Steed's sentence, his wife will have 30 days to report to jail to begin serving her six-month sentence.