Gulfport, Miss. - Thomas Richard Lepre, 63, of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to two years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for a wire fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze. Lepre was also ordered to pay $504,369.00 in restitution to victims.
Lepre devised a fraudulent wire scheme as an owner in a commercial financing partnership known as Alternative Financing Group ("AFG"). AFG purported to broker loans for individuals unable to obtain financing through traditional methods. Sources of income for the loans came from private investors to whom Lepre represented their moneys would be used to fund loans for AFG borrowing clients. The investigation revealed that, in fact, Lepre converted a large portion of the wired funds to his own use.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
