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An Arizona man pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to commit wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee.
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Arthur Merson, 67, of Scottsdale, Arizona, participated in a scheme to defraud involving investments in Standby Letters of Credit (SBLCs) in 2017 and 2018.
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Investors were promised that they could receive a portion of the value of an SBLC, worth millions of dollars, for a much smaller initial investment. They were also promised that their money would remain in the attorney trust account of a co-conspirator until confirmation was received that the SBLC had been issued.
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In his role as an intermediary between investors and the principal members of the conspiracy, Merson falsely represented to investors that the investment was not risky and that he had been involved in similar successful deals in the past. However, he had not been involved in prior successful transactions of this sort, nor had he made any significant amount of money from them.
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After co-conspirators fraudulently transferred investor funds, Merson relayed a variety of excuses from other members of the conspiracy for why the transactions had not occurred. He also falsely represented that he was an independent consultant who was only going to receive a small finder’s fee, and claimed not to know the details of the transaction or the payouts the clients could expect.
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Merson faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He also faces up to three years of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
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The FBI investigated the case.
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Related Federal Cases
- Petty Officer John Doe, Housing Allowance Fraud, California 2020 · Puerto Rico
- Maui Jim Employee, Mail and Wire Fraud, Scottsdale AZ, 2023 · California
- Letitia James Blocks Trump Tariffs, New York NY, 2023 · Connecticut
- David Prescott, Wire Fraud, Boston MA, 2023 · Arizona
- Westfield Transport Owners, Falsification of Records, Maine, 2023 · New York
Key Facts
- State: Maine
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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