Shreveport businessman sentenced in construction skam
By: Nancy Cook
Updated: November 18, 2010
Randel J. Mason, 57, owner of Mason Construction Company, Inc., was
sentenced today in federal court to 30 months in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and was
ordered to pay $757,792.20 in restitution. The sentence is a result of Mason’s plea of guilty to twocounts of wire fraud for submitting false documentation to his financing company in order to receivedraws on his company’s line of credit, United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today.
The sentence was handed down by U. S. District Judge Donald E. Walter in Shreveport.
According to court testimony, Mason Construction obtained financing for new home
construction from National City Mortgage, an Ohio-based financing company.
While purporting to build new homes in Shreveport, Mason submitted false documentation to National City Mortgage regarding the percentage of work completed, and provided fraudulent inspection certifications claiming that an independent appraiser had verified the work. In fact, Mason used an appraiser’s signature without his knowledge or consent. Relying on the fraudulent documentation, National City Mortgage remitted payments to Mason Construction Company’s local bank account.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Shreveport Resident
Agency, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cytheria D. Jernigan.
