Resident Of Grapevine, Texas Pleads Guilty To Fraud And Weapons Charges

         CONCORD - Steven Orr, 53, of Grapevine, Texas, pleaded guilty to defrauding victims in New Hampshire and Illinois and unlawfully possessing a firearm, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.

          According to court documents, in June of 2017, Orr offered to sell four loaders to a company in Windham, New Hampshire for $120,000.  Unaware that Orr did not own or have authority to sell the loaders, the New Hampshire company arranged for a third party to inspect the loaders and had $120,000 electronically transferred from its bank account in New Hampshire to Orr’s personal bank account in Grapevine, Texas.  After the deposit was made, Orr used the money for his personal benefit.

          In August of 2017, Orr agreed to sell 21 cranes owned by a company in Joliet, Illinois to a different company in Lemont, Illinois for $2.2 million.  Orr did not own the cranes or have the authority to sell them.  At Orr’s direction, the company in Lemont wire transferred a $550,000 deposit for the transaction from its bank account in Chicago, Illinois, to Orr’s personal bank account in Texas.  After that deposit was made, Orr used the money for his personal benefit.

          According to other court documents, it was unlawful for Orr to possess a firearm because he was a convicted felon.  Nevertheless, when Special Agents from the FBI arrested Orr in Texas last September, they found a Sig Sauer .40 caliber pistol and a Taurus .380 caliber pistol in a safe that was inside a recreational vehicle that Orr was renting.

          Orr pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17, 2018.

          “This prosecution will put an end to this defendant’s fraud schemes,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “I commend the FBI for its hard work in tracking down this fraudster and bringing him to justice.  This case also demonstrates our ongoing commitment to prosecuting those who possess firearms unlawfully.”

          “Mr. Orr is finally accepting responsibility for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from hard-working businesses that trusted him.  He conned them into purchasing equipment he did not own for his own personal benefit,” said Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Boston Division. “Financial fraud is not a victimless crime, and the FBI will continue to do everything it can to root out individuals like Mr. Orr whose behavior threatens the financial security of others.”

          The cases were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert M. Kinsella.

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