BRUNSWICK, Maine — A 23-year-old Gardiner man faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court on Thursday to wire fraud charges.
Ervin Morrison III entered into contracts between July 2014 and July 2015 promising goods and services to five individuals and companies, for which he collected more than $27,000 in advance payments, according to a release from the office of U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delehanty II.
At the time Morrison entered into the contracts, he had no intention or ability to provide the goods or services, according to the release, and he did not provide them
For the federal charges, Morrison faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The case was investigated by the FBI, the Maine State Police, the Brunswick Police Department and the Monson, Massachusetts, Police Department.
Morrison also is charged with scamming about 50 people from Maine to Florida out of nearly $500,000, Maine State Police said last week.
Morrison was arrested in January in Lisbon and charged with multiple counts of theft and motor vehicle violations stemming from incidents investigated by police agencies in Maine and Massachusetts.
Police had searched for Morrison since the summer of 2015 after receiving complaints about Craigslist services or products — firewood, wood pellets, logging, home repair, etc. — that were never delivered, Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said last week.
McCausland said statewide losses were expected to reach $250,000.
Morrison currently faces state charges in three counties, as well as federal charges, Brunswick Police Detective William Moir said last week.
In the fall of 2015, Morrison allegedly scammed a Brunswick businessman into writing him $86,000 in checks for wood pellets he never delivered, according to Moir.