Thread: Forger undone by pricey-pen scheme

link

Forger undone by pricey-pen scheme

08:20 AM CDT on Thursday, April 28, 2005
By MATT STILES / The Dallas Morning News

Mauricio Aguirre-Orcutt admits he told a dozen lies, created a false identity and even forged a thank-you note from President Bush – all to swindle some pricey fountain pens last year.

Federal authorities in Dallas say it was one of the more elaborate and creative schemes they've seen. Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt, 36, is quite good at telling tall tales, according to court records and interviews.

The Dallas man, who once charmed the state's top young conservatives into believing he was a well-connected Republican activist, quit his job last week as a dean for the Dallas County Community College District. The move came a few days after officials learned of the federal case – and amid revelations about his criminal past, bogus résumé and forged Harvard University transcript.

The deception was uncovered by The Dallas Morning News after Public Information Act requests and a review of federal court documents spanning a decade.

Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt was expected to plead guilty today to mail fraud in connection with the pen scam. Signed plea papers indicate that Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt tricked a pen magazine publisher into sending him a total of 11 pens worth tens of thousands of dollars.

To pull it off, Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt told a pen aficionado in Kingwood, Texas, that he'd twice worked in the White House. He boasted about an invitation to President Bush's ranch near Crawford. He claimed he knew United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

"Of course, none of that was true," said Mark Lowery, special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Dallas office, which investigated the case.

Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt couldn't be reached for comment. His attorney, Michael Snipes of Dallas, said his client "is a decent man who has made mistakes."

"I am hopeful that in the future, he will be a productive member of society," he said. Mr. Snipes declined to answer questions about Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt's background or motives.

Associates from his past recall a charismatic, ambitious activist who fibbed and forged with skill. He didn't do it for money, they suspect.

He wanted to be known as a political player.

Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt, claiming to have the backing of prominent politicians, including former Vice President Dan Quayle, persuaded other young activists in 2001 to join a now-defunct group called the National Council for a Republican Congress. What the council's officers didn't know was that Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt was a twice-convicted felon who had served time in prison.

In late 1995, court records show, Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt was charged in a San Antonio federal court in connection with a credit card scheme. An eight-count federal indictment alleging mail fraud, wire fraud and Social Security fraud followed.

He eventually accepted a plea deal in March 1996, admitting that he illegally used a San Antonio lawyer's credit card to charter flights under a false name to Van Horn, Texas, and Newark, N.J., according to court records.

Ten days after his plea agreement, while Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt was free on bail, his name appeared in the San Antonio Express-News. He touted the I Have a Dream Foundation, for which he briefly worked as a grant writer.

Marie Goforth, a former foundation official, said she recalls Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt as personable and highly educated. She said his fluency in Spanish is what persuaded the foundation, which worked primarily with Hispanic youths, to hire him.

A year in prison

He was fired about the time the federal case worked its way through the courts.

A federal judge sentenced Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt to a year in prison and ordered him to pay $28,000 restitution. He got out in late 1997, and immigration authorities deported him to Mexico two years later. He returned legally in a few weeks.

Within months, Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt was back in trouble with federal authorities. This time, he tried to talk his way into a free room at the luxurious Hotel Crescent Court in Dallas by flashing a fake U.S. State Department badge. He admitted falsely impersonating a federal agent and pleaded guilty, serving four months in prison in 2000.

Soon after, he started the political organization. It went well at first. Members held a 2001 convention at the Fairmont Hotel, drawing more than 100 conservatives from across the country. Former Rep. Dick Armey, then Republican majority leader of the U.S. House, spoke about taxes. Other state and local politicians came.

But soon after, fellow officers grew concerned about Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt's representations.

Concerns about money

They still didn't know about his criminal convictions, but letters of praise he showed them – including one from former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher – appeared forged. Bogus e-mails were sent to members to back up his claims. Concerns arose about his handling of council finances.

The council also received a letter from U.S. Senate Jon Kyl, R-Arizona, who wrote that he had never authorized the use of his name as one of the group's advisers.

The numerous suspected lies were compiled into a motion to remove Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt as chairman.

"Mauricio is an incredibly charming and convincing individual," said Melissa Lauderdale, the group's former general counsel, who confronted Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt, prompting his resignation.

"I, like other people, regret that I was taken in by someone who turned out to be such a fraud."

Within months of his resignation from the council, in September 2001, officials with the community college district hired him as dean of planning and resource development at the Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development, which is in a partnership with the private sector to provide job training.


Impressive résumé

He worked there until April 19, making $65,000 a year to lead a staff of three that dealt with about $4 million in grant money – roughly half of the institute's current budget, district officials said.

To get the job, Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt showed an impressive résumé. He produced a transcript from Harvard University that appeared to show that he had earned a master's degree in business administration. The résumé also stated that he had worked at the White House and State Department.

Many of the claims on his résumé were false or at least suspicious, according to interviews and reviews of the documents.

White House archivists don't have a record of him working there. State Department officials reported the same.

Judy Kugel, registrar of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, said the public-policy school doesn't offer a master's in business administration, as the transcript indicates.

"This is the most bogus thing that I can ever imagine for a million reasons," Ms. Kugel said.

Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt this year also claimed that while living in Dallas, he had earned a philosophy doctorate from England's prestigious Oxford University. The registrar's office there shows no record of him.

Community college district officials – who trusted the transcripts – said they didn't perform a criminal background check on Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt because he didn't handle cash or work directly with students.

The institute's president, Dr. Glen Bounds, said he's "shocked."

"He is a very organized, diligent, very, very bright individual," he said. "His performance has been outstanding."

Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt apparently fooled district officials with the same skills that allowed the fountain pen scheme to proceed.


$12,000 in pens

According to signed plea papers, that scam began in June, when Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt e-mailed the publisher of Pen World International Magazine in Kingwood, about 20 miles north of Houston. Essentially, he tricked the man into sending him nine pens, together worth about $12,000, as a token of appreciation for some free advertising. No ads were ever published. The publisher later sent two more, including a rare David Oscarson pen that retails for about $5,000.

"These are for Lamborghini and Ferrari drivers and people with jets and their own yachts," said Jonn Giordano, a gemologist for deBoulle, a luxury jewelry store on Preston Road.

Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt admits later mailing the publisher fabricated pictures that purportedly showed Mr. Annan signing a U.N. resolution and Mr. Bush signing a proclamation. He also sent a forged thank you note from the president, arousing the suspicions of authorities, court records show.

If the federal judge accepts the plea agreement, Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt probably will get five years' probation.

Federal prosecutors usually don't discuss the reasoning behind a plea deal, but it's possible that the relatively low loss amount prompted leniency. Many of the pens also were recovered.

Eric Stratton, another former officer in the former Republican council, said Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt's methods are familiar. He, like others, remains puzzled.

"Of all the scams somebody's going to run, who would have thought that he'd run it from a political angle?" he said. "Mauricio was, sadly enough, more interested in the attention. He wanted the respect. He wanted to be noticed. He was looking for love in all the wrong places."

E-mail mstiles@dallasnews

He has been convicted twice for fraud, given 2 prison terms. He was found to be here illegally and was sent back, and then re-admitted into the country legally after one year.

immigration authorities deported him to Mexico two years later. He returned legally in a few weeks.

PLEASE someone, explain this to me???

Originally Posted by 2ndamendsis

immigration authorities deported him to Mexico two years later. He returned legally in a few weeks.

PLEASE someone, explain this to me???

Nothing can explain or worse yet, justify this!

Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt couldn't be reached for comment. His attorney, Michael Snipes of Dallas, said his client "is a decent man who has made mistakes."

"I am hopeful that in the future, he will be a productive member of society," he said. Mr. Snipes declined to answer questions about Mr. Aguirre-Orcutt's background or motives.

Yea right! Decent man? Nope .. you're spinning so fast, Mr. Snipes, oh lawyer guy, that you can't even speak truth! He's a CRIMINAL!

Productive member of society? Personally, I DON'T want HIM or ANY OF HIS ILK here!!

What part of CRIME and ILLEGAL ENTRY do YOU not understand, Mr. Snipes? Oh .. wait, silly silly me ... of course YOU don't understand that ... you're probably a CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER that does a wink, wink at these types of acts and works to get these type of manipulators and schemers off! And that makes me