Awaiting his punishment
A Florida man is facing up to 20 years in prison for stealing money that was meant to be sports camp tuition and using it for gambling and plastic surgery. A federal jury found Mehdi Belhassan guilty of two counts of wire fraud; his sentencing will take place in January.
collected about $380,000 from at least 303 families
The 53-year-old collected about $380,000 from at least 303 families across the country for the annual MB Sports Camps. He also took $190,000 in advance payments from a commercial finance firm and an online payments company.
Cracking down on fraudsters
The Tampa resident falsely said that he would be running the sports camp for kids at a college in the Boston area during July and August 2019. He began collecting the tuition in the fall of 2018 and used it to go on vacations to Las Vegas casinos, on adult entertainment, and to get plastic surgery.
The authorities arrested and charged Belhassan in March 2021. Acting US Attorney Joshua Levy described in a statement how “Mr. Belhassan preyed upon the trust of families, promising summer fun while plotting his own indulgence.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen warned people that many financial fraudsters are out there trying to get people to part with their hard-earned money. She emphasized that the FBI is focusing on cracking down on these types of schemes.
The timeline of events
Belhassan ran MB Sports Camps annually at Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts between 2013 and 2018. The college would not let him hold the camps on its campus in 2019 as he did not make the required payments.
fraudulent contract of his agreement with the school
Belhassan told parents in April 2019 that the camp would instead be held at Northeastern University, despite never contacting the institution. He went so far as to provide a fraudulent contract of his agreement with the school to a lender, which included the forged signature of one of the administrators.
Belhassan sent an email in July informing parents of the cancelation of the camp, saying it was the result of someone attempting to “sabotage” the business. Despite promising to issue refunds, he had already spent the majority of the tuition money.