HOUSTON – A repairman of a Houston shop was sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison for defrauding customers.
Mark Ricky Mitchell, 36, of Sugar Land, is accused of taking over $700,000 in false claims, according to the FBI. He was ordered to pay back more than $1.14 million in restitution.
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In addition, the judge handed Mitchell three years of supervised release following his sentence and a condition of supervised release that prohibits Mitchell from engaging in any machine repair business without prior approval, per the release.
Mitchell, a resident of Sugar Land, pleaded guilty on Jan. 16.
According to investigators, Mitchell said he would make false claims to his customers. Once he obtained possession of the victims’ parts, Mitchell demanded payment for fraudulent charges before he would return the parts. Officials said the charges were significantly more than Mitchell had originally quoted for work that was never performed nor authorized.
Mitchell has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin R. Martin prosecuted the case.