Brewer Woman Sentenced to 2 and a Half Years for Wire Fraud, Making False Statements to a Lending Business & Making Straw Purchase

BANGOR, Maine — A Brewer woman was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Bangor for wire fraud and making false statements to a mortgage lending business. She was also sentenced for making a false statement to a licensed firearms dealer in a separate case.

U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced Carol Bragdon, 50, to 30 months imprisonment for her fraud counts and 12 months for her gun crimes, served concurrently, followed by three years of supervised release. Bragdon was also ordered to pay $177,000 in restitution. She pleaded guilty on April 13.

According to court records, between November 2020 and April 2021, Bragdon provided false statements and representations to a residential mortgage lender for the purpose of obtaining a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) backed loan. She used Google email accounts to communicate with the lender and the VA and to transmit documentation as part of the scheme. The emails were transmitted from Maine and through another state.

In August 2021, Bragdon purchased five firearms at Maine Military Supply in Brewer, falsely stating that she was the actual purchaser of the firearms. She was accompanied by an individual who directed her to specific firearms and who was later arrested with one of the firearms, a Walther model PK380 .380 caliber pistol. That individual was prohibited from purchasing a firearm under federal law.

The VA Office of Inspector General and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the cases.

A straw purchase is an illegal firearm purchase where the actual buyer of the gun, being unable to pass the required federal background check or desiring to not have his or her name associated with the transaction, uses a proxy buyer who can pass the required background check to purchase the firearm for him/her.

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