A Stevensville timber frame home builder has been sentenced to five years and three months in prison for defrauding customers. Brett Mauri, 61, was convicted by a federal jury in September 2024 on four counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering. U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided over the case, ordering Mauri to pay $1,855,025.25 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.
U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich announced the sentencing, stating that Mauri had used customer payments for personal expenses rather than constructing their homes as promised. The court remanded Mauri to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Mauri owned Bitterroot Timber Frames (BTF) and Three Mile Creek Post & Beam, LLC. Between 2018 and 2022, he defrauded nine individuals who hired him to build timber frame homes across various states including Montana, New York, Utah, and Louisiana. Instead of fulfilling his contractual obligations, Mauri misled customers about the use of their funds.
The scheme involved convincing clients to send payments that were deposited into accounts belonging to Mauri or his wife. These funds were primarily spent on personal expenses such as shopping sprees and travel rather than on construction work. The limited work performed bore similarities to a Ponzi scheme; new client funds were used to cover previous expenses without delivering adequate services or materials.
Victims faced significant financial burdens due to Mauri's actions, often having to rectify substandard work or abandon projects altogether when it became clear promises would not be fulfilled.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with an investigation conducted by the FBI.
