LAS VEGAS, Nev. - A Florida resident was sentenced Tuesday to 27 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release for committing a $1.3 million mail fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich for the District of Nevada.
Maria Jesus Luciano, 67, of Tampa, Florida, previously of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty without the benefit of a plea agreement to 11 counts of mail fraud. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon ordered her to pay $1,292,748 in restitution.
According to court documents, Luciano resided in Las Vegas in 2010 and 2011. During that time period, Luciano befriended 48-year-old James McMillan. After relocating to Tampa in 2011, Luciano fraudulently represented to McMillan that she had a pending settlement award from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and that she would share the settlement award with McMillan if he provided her money to pay fees, interest, and other costs related to obtaining the settlement award. In fact, although she served briefly in the U.S. Army and received some benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for a non-military service related disability, Luciano was not entitled to any large monetary award or settlement.
In July 2013, Luciano mailed McMillan a fake promissory note granting him an interest in the purported settlement award. McMillan in turn used his position as a controller at a large real estate investment business to embezzle and steal approximately $1.3 million from the business and its investors. He mailed Luciano numerous envelopes and packages containing the stolen money, which Luciano used for gambling and personal expenses.
On May 2, 2017, McMillan pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a separate case and is pending sentencing before U.S. District Judge Gordon.
The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Offices of Inspectors General for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Burns prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
