PORTLAND, Ore.—Bryan Scott Gunn, 45, of Victorville,
California, was sentenced today to 63 months in federal prison and three years’
supervised release for orchestrating a fraud scheme that netted more than
$344,000 from unknowing victims while he was on federal supervised release.
According to court documents, less than two weeks after
completing a 22-month federal prison sentence for a similar fraud scheme, Gunn
registered a new fictitious company called Legacy Funding Group. According to a
website Gunn created, Legacy Funding Group was a financing company “with access
to many private banking institutions and other professional relationships” that
“specialized in structured asset based financing and equipment leasing.”
Gunn went to great lengths to make Legacy Funding Group
appear legitimate, opening corresponding bank accounts, registering email
addresses, falsely claiming to lease high-end commercial office space, and
attempting to disassociate his true identity from the company. His scheme
worked. In a matter of months, Gunn had successfully cheated 11 clients out of
more than $344,000. Gunn convinced his victims, many of whom were in
agriculture or agriculture-related industries, to pay him various upfront costs
in order to obtain promised financing or loans.
Once he received his clients’ money, Gunn moved it between
several bank accounts using cash, cashier’s checks, and temporary checks. His
cash withdrawals alone exceeded $100,000. When his clients complained about the
lack of financing and demanded their money be returned, Gunn referred them via
email to a fictitious legal department. In the end, Gunn did not obtain any
financing or loans for his clients and diverted all of their money to personal
use.
During sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge Michael W.
Mosman ordered Gunn to pay $363,453 in restitution to his victims.
On February 24, 2020, Gunn pleaded guilty to one count each
of wire fraud and money laundering.
The case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and
prosecuted by Scott E. Bradford, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of
Oregon.
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