Former Real Estate Broker Arrested on Fraud Charges

BOSTON—A Mansfield man was arrested Monday and arraigned in U.S. District Court in Boston on Tuesday, March 24 on charges that he defrauded a married couple of nearly $200,000 in connection with alleged real estate transactions.

Michael David Scott, 48, was indicted on five counts of wire fraud. Scott is currently awaiting a June 2, 2014 trial in federal court involving unrelated mortgage frauds charges. U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler ordered Scott detained pending further proceedings.

The indictment alleges that from 2001 to 2013, while Scott was a real estate broker, he collected $199,000 as deposits for the purchases of three properties by a husband and wife. Although Scott promised to hold the funds in escrow, he instead spent them for his own use. It is also alleged that Scott knew two of the deals fell through and personally participated in the sale of the third property to someone else but refused to refund the deposits to the victims.

If convicted, Scott faces a statutory maximum sentence for wire fraud of 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston, made the announcement. The case is being prosecuted by Victor A. Wild and Ryan M. DiSantis of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.