CONCORD, N.H. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - New Hampshire), published as received.
CONCORD, N.H. – Ronald Mason, 47, has been sentenced to 72 months in prison for mail fraud offenses that involved the theft of more than $650,000, announced United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice. Mason previously pleaded guilty on June 1, 2016.
In October 2004, Mason was sentenced to 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release for a federal offense he committed in Texas. While Mason was serving that sentence, the owner of Financial Resources Management, Scott Farrar, and Farrar’s business associate, Donald Dodge, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire to stealing more than $30 million from FRM’s investors.
After Mason was released from prison, he absconded from his federal supervision and a warrant was issued for his arrest. To avoid being arrested, Mason used a false last name and moved to Concord, New Hampshire. He then caused letters to be sent to more than 100 people who Farrar and Dodge defrauded by falsely promising to use their money to build the Abbott Village condominiums in Concord. Three people responded to the letter. When Mason met with them, he lied to them about his personal wealth and his experience as a real estate developer. Over the next several months, he stole more than $520,000 from the former FRM victims by falsely promising to use their money to complete Abbott Village and for other real estate projects in New Hampshire.
When Mason’s efforts to steal money from these former FRM victims stalled, he concealed his status as a fugitive and provided false information about his personal wealth to steal more than $130,000 from two other people.
The case was investigated by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, the United States Secret Service, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Kinsella.
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