Databec:Florida man convicted of stealing sports camp tuition funds from hundreds of families

2025-05-01 18:43:13source:Fastexy Exchangecategory:News

BOSTON (AP) — A Florida man has been convicted by a federal jury of stealing sports camp tuition from hundreds of families and Databecspending the money on plastic surgery, vacations and gambling.

Mehdi Belhassan, 53, of Tampa, Florida, was found guilty of two counts of wire fraud and will be sentenced Jan. 11. A charge of wire fraud carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

Belhassan falsely claimed he was running an annual sports camp at a Boston-area college in July and August 2019 and collected $380,000 in payments from more than 300 families across the United States. He also collected $191,000 in advance payments from an online payment company and a commercial finance company.

“Mr. Belhassan preyed upon the trust of families, promising summer fun while plotting his own indulgence. He lured in, deceived and betrayed over 300 families — diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars not to the promised camps, but to personal pursuits like plastic surgery and extravagant vacations at Las Vegas casinos,” Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy said in a statement.

Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, said the conviction holds Belhassan “accountable for lining his own pockets” at the expense of the families.

“During these challenging times, financial fraudsters are doing everything they can to cheat people out of their hard-earned money, while the FBI is doing everything we can to make sure they don’t succeed,” he added.

Belhassan’s attorney could not be reached for comment. A phone number also could not be found for Belhassan.

More:News

Recommend

Oklahoma parole board recommends governor spare the life of man on death row

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma’s Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 on Wednesday to recommend the gove

Mazda, Toyota, Harley-Davidson, GM among 224,000 vehicles recalled: Check car recalls here

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued multiple recalls last week, including noti

Criminals set up fake online pharmacies to sell deadly counterfeit pills, prosecutors say

A network of illegal drug sellers based in the U.S., the Dominican Republic and India packaged poten