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Utah Man Charged with $5.8M Mail Fraud Scheme
Riverside, CA – In a shocking turn of events, a Utah man has been arraigned in federal court on charges of mail fraud, accused of defrauding an organic produce distributor out of a staggering $5.8 million.
Kevin Scott Horton, 55, of Saratoga Springs, Utah, was arraigned in Riverside federal court on Tuesday, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to the indictment, Horton allegedly created a shell company called Creative Network Solutions (CNS) in February 2000 and began sending fictitious invoices to Melissa’s World Variety Produce Inc., a Vernon-based company.
The indictment alleges that Horton and his co-conspirator, Tony Anhtuan Rawlings, 56, of Garden Grove, management information systems director at Melissa’s, schemed to defraud the company out of millions by approving payment for invoices for fictitious services.
Rawlings allegedly provided false information to Melissa’s executives, claiming that CNS provided information technology and information systems services to the company, when in fact, Horton had no background in computers and CNS never provided services to Melissa’s or any other company.
If convicted of all charges, Horton could face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each mail fraud count.
The FBI investigated this matter, and Assistant United States Attorney Eli A. Alcaraz of the Riverside Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
Rawlings pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in August 2022 and is set to be sentenced on June 1.
The case highlights the importance of vigilance in preventing corporate fraud and the devastating consequences of such crimes.
A trial date has been set for March 28 in United States District Court in Los Angeles.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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