Date: 02-05-2025

Case Style:

United States of America v. William Dawson

Case Number:

Judge: Margaret R. Guzman

Court: The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts

Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office for Boston

Defendant's Attorney:

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Description:

Boston, Massachusetts criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with Selling Fraudulently Obtained Gold Coins
Connecticut Man Sentenced for Selling Fraudulently Obtained Gold Coins

A Connecticut man was sentenced today for fraudulently obtaining more than 100 gold coins and then transporting them outside of Massachusetts.

William Dawson, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman to five years of probation, with one year of home confinement, and ordered to pay restitution. In April 2024, Dawson pleaded guilty to one count of interstate transportation of property taken by fraud. Dawson was arrested and charged in October 2023.

Dawson held himself out as a property buyer and reseller. Person-1 operated a home cleanout business in Massachusetts that sold property contained in decedent estates. In or around December 2022, Person-1 was retained by a decedent estate to clean out a residence in Shrewsbury, Mass. In that home, Person-1 found 170 Queen Elizabeth II Canadian Gold Maple Leaf Coins, collectively worth approximately $290,000. With approval from the estate, Person-1 agreed to sell 120 of the gold coins to Dawson.

In January 2023, Dawson met with Person-1 in Millbury and purchased the 120 gold coins with two checks totaling $198,800. However, Dawson had significantly less than $198,800 in the relevant bank account when he wrote the checks to Person-1. Later that same day, Dawson called Person-1, falsely claiming that his car had been broken into and that the gold coins had been stolen. The next day, Dawson traveled to a pawn shop in Pawtucket, R.I. where he sold 43 of the gold coins in exchange for $80,442. On several occasions in February 2023, Dawson traveled to a pawn shop in Cranston, R.I., where he sold 19 more of the gold coins in exchange for a total of approximately $35,094.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Andrew Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Milford Police Department and the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan O’Shea of the Worcester Branch Office prosecuted the case.

Outcome:

Defendant was found guilty and sentenced to five years of probation, with one year of home confinement, and ordered to pay restitution.

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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