A former Chelsea man pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of wire fraud, indicating he agreed to contracts to provide goods and services but never intended to provide them.

Ervin Morrison III, 23, now of Gardiner, entered the guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Bangor to five counts of wire fraud. He was represented by Jamie Nixon, of the Federal Public Defender’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew McCormick said Thursday that Morrison defrauded two Massachusetts companies and three individuals, two from the Gardiner area and one from Colorado.

“He promised cords of wood to a couple of folks, landscaping to another individual, work on hardwood floors for another individual and promised to transport a truck from Sanford, Maine to Colorado,” McCormick said.

A news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said, “According to court records, between about June 2014 and July 2015, Morrison entered into contracts promising goods and services to five individuals and companies and for which he collected over $27,000 in advance payments. At the time he entered the contracts, Morrison had no intention or ability to provide the goods and services and he did not provide them.”

The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Morrison will be sentenced after a pre-sentence investigation report is prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

According to the press release, the case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Maine State Police, Brunswick Police Department, and the Monson, Massachusetts, Police Department. Morrison also faces a number of charges in state court.

In January 2016, Morrison was arrested and accused of swindling customers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars for goods and serviced he did not provide.

At that time, State Police spokesman Steve McCausland said police had sought Morrison since last summer after receiving several complaints of services or products being offered on Craigslist that were never delivered.

Maine State Police Trooper Christopher Rogers said at that time that a pair of Maine companies lost $132,000 and he expected losses in Maine to total $250,000.

In August 2015, a grand jury in Kennebec County indicted Morrison, then living in Vassalboro, on charges of forging checks from Winslow Community Credit Union on his father’s account and on a charge of theft by deception involving gaining more than $1,000 in cash from Goggins IGA in Randolph. The offenses allegedly occurred between Jan. 21-Feb. 1, 2015, in Randolph.

Morrison remains in custody in Maine.

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams

Copy the Story Link