Man sentenced in $3.7M advance fee scam

GREENBELT, Md. — A man who prosecutors say defrauded religious-based groups out of money they paid for donations that never materialized has been sentenced to six years in prison.

Fifty-one-year-old Shannon Johnson of Laytonsville was also ordered to forfeit $3.7 million at sentencing Monday in federal court in Greenbelt.

According to his plea agreement, Johnson pretended to be an international investment banker. Prosecutors say Johnson charged the groups advance banking fees which would be used to promote the groups to philanthropists, who would make donations.

Instead, prosecutors say, Johnson kept the money and bought luxury cars, traveled on private jets and paid the mortgage on his Laytonsville home.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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