Former Owner Of Spring Hill Construction Companysentenced To 36 Months In Prison

          Stephen McLaughlin, 46, of Pelham, New Hampshire, former owner of EquipLinq, Co., a Spring Hill construction equipment company, was sentenced on May 13, 2013, by U.S. District Court Judge Todd J. Campbell to serve 36 months in prison, following his conviction on February 8, 2013, of two counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, announced David Rivera, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. 

            According to testimony presented at trial, on at least four occasions while serving as the president of EquipLinq, McLaughlin forged the signatures of EquipLinq investors and customers on false documents that he used to secure financing for the company’s purchase and/or lease of construction equipment inventory. Through his fraudulent activities, McLaughlin investors and creditors were defrauded of more than $100,000.

            “Identity theft in various forms, is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States and is a part of almost every financial crime,” said Acting U.S. Attorney David Rivera. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to working diligently with our law enforcement partners to prosecute those who commit fraud using theft and those who prey on the unsuspecting public.”

            “This sentence validates the FBI’s commitment to relentlessly pursue those who use identity theft to prey on unsuspecting victims and to defraud lenders,” said Gregory W. Bowden, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Memphis Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

            This case was investigated by the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Darryl A. Stewart and Kathryn B. Ward.