Real Estate Broker Cops Plea To Swiping $199K In Escrow/Purchase Deposits From Couple For Three Properties; Defendant Committed Fleecing While On Pre-Trial Release For Unrelated Mortgage Fraud Scheme For Which He Got 11+ Years In Prison

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Boston, Massachusetts):

• A former real estate broker pleaded guilty [...], in connection a scheme to defraud a couple of the deposit they paid to purchase three properties in Randolph, Roxbury and Jamaica Plain.
  
  Michael David Scott, 51, of Mansfield, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for March 25, 2016.
  
  From February 2011 to October 2013, Scott fraudulently persuaded a couple to sign three Purchase & Sale Agreements to buy properties in Randolph, Roxbury and Jamaica Plain. The couple deposited $199,000 with Scott under the false promise that their funds would be held in escrow. However, Scott immediately spent the funds for his own use.
  
  Furthermore, Scott knew that the first property was taken off the market by the sellers, that the bank holding the mortgage had refused to approve the sale of the second property, and that he had sold the third property to someone else. Scott never informed the couple about the status of the properties, and when they tried to get a refund of their deposits, he falsely assured them their deals were still pending and refused to return their deposits.
  
  ***.
  In a separate federal case, Scott was sentenced on November 12, 2015 to 135 months in prison in connection with a multi-year, multi-property mortgage fraud scheme in Boston. Scott was on pre-trial release in this earlier fraud case when he committed the aforementioned crimes.

Source: Former Real Estate Broker Pleads Guilty to Second Federal Fraud Scheme.