Fort Worth Man Sentenced to 240 Months in Federal Prison after Pleading Guilty to Felony Offense Related to Elder Abuse

FORT WORTH — Micaha Paul Sneed, aka “Micaha “Mike” McGrath,” 40, of Fort Worth, Texas, was last week by U.S. District Judge John McBryde to serve 240 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in October 2017 to a felony offense related to elder abuse, announced U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox of the Northern District of Texas. 

Specifically, Sneed pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He has been in custody since the time of his arrest in August 2017.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, starting in 2008 and continuing until June 2017, Sneed devised and operated a scheme to defraud, and to obtain money by false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises. McGrath solicited and obtained large sums of money from multiple victims by making false representations that he needed help paying legal fees and other costs related to a lawsuit with the U.S. government over his biological father’s Florida estate and obtaining proceeds of a life insurance policy for which Sneed was the beneficiary. Neither the estate nor the life insurance policy existed.

Sneed, according to the factual resume, was given money by each of the victims in exchange for his promise to pay the victims from either the fictitious estate or fictitious life insurance policy. Between October 20, 2014, and June 29, 2017, McGrath provided approximately 18 counterfeit checks to the victims, falsely representing that the checks were payments of partial proceeds from the lawsuit and/or the life insurance policy.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson prosecuted.

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