A so-called “van conversion” expert who defrauded Maine customers has been convicted of federal wire fraud.
Matthew Strong, 44, who owned and operated East Coast Van Builds in Bradford, Vermont was ordered to pay restitution of $500,000 for his thievery.
Strong signed a plea agreement in U.S. District Court admitting he was involved in wire fraud by transferring ill-gotten money across state lines.
He’s facing a year in federal prison.
Strong used excessive payments from customers in Maine and five other northeast states to help finance a music festival he promoted, prosecutors said.
The money was supposed to have been used for the van conversions, according to Vermont News First.
Strong also wired money that should have financed van conversions to a New Hampshire woman in a slush-fund scheme, according to the plea deal.
He left customers who gave him deposits on the hook by failing to do agreed-upon work on their vehicles while refusing to return their messages asking when their vans would be ready. In a sense, he held people’s dreams for ransom all while financing his own fantasy.
A van conversion is the process of modifying a cargo or passenger van to add custom features, turning it into a new type of vehicle like a campervan, mobile office, or wheelchair-accessible vehicle.
