Texas Man Pleads Guilty To Fraud, Gun Charges In NH

CONCORD, NH — A Texas felon pleaded guilty to defrauding companies in two states today, according to the U.S. District Court. Steven Orr, 53, of Grapevine, TX, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Twice last year, according to U.S. Attorney Scott Murray, Orr attempted to sell industrial vehicles that he didn’t own to two different companies.

The first company was in Windham. Orr offered to sell the company four loaders for $120,000 in June 2017. The company arranged for a third party to eye the loaders but didn’t know that he didn’t have the loaders and had no authority to sell them. After the company wired the money to Orr, he used it for his personal benefit.

About two months later, in August 2017, Orr tried to sell 21 cranes owned by a Joliet, IL, company, to another company in Lemont, IL, for $2.2 million. At Orr’s direction, the company in Lemont wire transferred a $550,000 deposit for the transaction from its bank account in Chicago to Orr’s personal bank account in Texas. After that deposit was made, Orr used the money for his personal benefit.

Orr, according to information online, was arrested in October 2015, in Texas, for fraudulent use of identifying information. No other information is available about the case but the court stated that he is a convicted felon and not legally able to be in possession of firearms. However, when the FBI picked Orr up in Texas in September 2017, agents found a Sig Sauer .40 caliber pistol and a Taurus .38 caliber pistol inside a safe in a recreational vehicle he was renting at the time of his arrest, according to the court.

“This prosecution will put an end to this defendant’s fraud schemes,” Murray said in a statement. “I commend the FBI for its hard work in tracking down this fraudster and bringing him to justice. This case also demonstrates our ongoing commitment to prosecuting those who possess firearms unlawfully.”

Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Boston Division, added, “Mr. Orr is finally accepting responsibility for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from hard-working businesses that trusted him. He conned them into purchasing equipment he did not own for his own personal benefit. Financial fraud is not a victimless crime, and the FBI will continue to do everything it can to root out individuals like Mr. Orr whose behavior threatens the financial security of others.”

Police file photo.