Lewiston Man Sentenced for Mail Fraud and Providing False Statements to FBI

Portland, ME—United States Attorney Paula D. Silsby announced that Matthew R. Theriault, 25, of Lewiston, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland to 14 months' imprisonment followed by three years' supervised release for mail fraud and providing false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby imposed the sentence following Theriault’s entry of a guilty plea in January 2010.

According to court records, from October 2006 to December 2006 Theriault devised and executed a scheme involving the sale of stolen tractors over the eBay internet auction site. Theriault sold the tractors to unwitting buyers and personally transported the tractors from Maine to other states. Theriault knew at the time he sold and transported the tractors that they were stolen. As part of his scheme, in December of 2006 Theriault e-mailed a doctored bill of sale to a purchaser of one of the tractors in an effort to create a false paper trail for the stolen tractor. In an interview that was conducted as part of the criminal investigation, Theriault falsely claimed that he had purchased several tractors and trailers from an individual in Charlton, Massachusetts, when in fact he had not purchased the tractors and trailers from this individual.

United States Attorney Silsby praised the investigation conducted by the FBI and the Lewiston Police Department.