UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA ALEXANDRIA    NEWPORT NEWS    NORFOLK    RICHMOND CHUCK ROSENBERG, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

Automobile Wholesaler Employee Sentenced in $530,000 Bank Fraud

(Richmond, Virginia) - Ryland Mason, age 44, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, was sentenced today for his role in a corporate diversion scheme and bank fraud. United States District Judge Richard L. Williams sentenced Mason to 57 months’ imprisonment and ordered Mason to pay restitution of $530,690 to Provident Bank. The court ordered that the sentence run consecutive to any other sentence already imposed. Mason is currently serving a state sentence of four years on fraud charges. Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Jennifer Smith Love, Special Agent-In-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Richmond Field Office, announced the sentence.

Mason was a buyer and seller of automobiles for the Maz Company, which was engaged in the automobile wholesaling business in Fredericksburg, Virginia. As such, the Maz Company bought and sold automobiles, from automobile auctions, dealerships and private individuals.

The normal business practice was that when Mason would sell a vehicle to an auto auction on behalf of the Maz Coompany, the auction would write a check payable to the Maz Company and give it to Mason, who would then submit it to the Maz Company for deposit into the corporate account. In February 2006, however, Mason began fraudulently to deposit the checks into his own personal account at Provident, and in the process, falsely represent to the bank employees that he was the owner of the Maz Company and was authorized to cash the checks. In fact, Mason was only an employee and the Maz Company was unaware of Mason’s diversions. From February 21, 2006 until December 26, 2006, Mason fraudulently cashed and diverted 63 Maz checks in the total amount of $530,690.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney David T. Maguire prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of tthe United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.