Michael Andrew Scott, a 38-year-old resident of Fair Oaks, has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for his involvement in a fraudulent medical device sales scheme. The sentencing was delivered by Senior U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith. In addition to the prison term, Scott is required to pay $376,044 in restitution to his victims.
Court documents reveal that between June 2018 and June 2022, Scott orchestrated a plan to deceive investors through his company, Trusted Medical Partnership. He falsely claimed that he or his company had received purchase orders from healthcare providers for medical devices but needed capital to fulfill these orders. Investors were persuaded to provide loans with promises of significant returns and no risk.
Contrary to Scott's claims, there were no actual purchase orders from healthcare providers. Some victims received doctored or fabricated purchase orders intended to convince them of the legitimacy of the investment opportunity. Healthcare providers listed on these fake documents confirmed their falsity or noted inflated amounts and misinformation.
Trusted Medical Partnership was not conducting legitimate business activities despite being incorporated in California; it paid no taxes and submitted no employment records before its suspension in December 2021. Nevertheless, Scott continued soliciting investments under its name after this date.
Victims who lent money based on Scott's misrepresentations saw little return on their investments as funds were diverted for gambling at local casinos and personal expenses rather than fulfilling purported business obligations. Overall, at least 16 individuals were defrauded out of nearly $470,000.
The case resulted from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dhruv M. Sharma.