BIRMINGHAM, AL - DONALD MOULTON, SR, 47, of Bessemer, was sentenced by  United States District Judge R. David Proctor, to 90 months in prison for mail fraud and false representations of social security numbers.  MOULTON was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $207,229.90. MOULTON was convicted following a jury trial on February 28, 2008.

“As guardians of the public trust, we will continue to remain vigilant, focused, aggressive and committed to punishing those unscrupulous individuals who seek to illegally enrich themselves at the expense of tax-paying citizens,” stated United States Attorney Alice H. Martin 

The evidence at trial established that from July 2003 to September 2004, MOULTON engaged in a scheme to defraud American Express in connection with a corporate charge account he opened in the name of Magic City, Inc.  In support of the application that he submitted for that charge account, MOULTON provided American Express with a corporate tax return purporting to document the financial condition of Magic City.  In fact, that document was false and fraudulent, and in fact had never been filed with the Internal Revenue Service.   After being approved for the account, MOULTON incurred in excess of $200,000 in charges from August 2003 until December 2003.   MOULTON sought to prolong the scheme by forwarding payments to American Express which he knew would be returned because his bank account lacked sufficient funds.  MOULTON never repaid any of the amounts he charged.  The evidence at trial also established the MOULTON engaged in separate criminal activity by falsely represented his social security number on an application to purchase a Mercedes Benz from the Ultimate Automotive Group in June 2004

The investigation of this matter was conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney William C. Athanas and Melissa K. Atwood prosecuted this matter on behalf of the United States.