BANGOR, Maine — A woman from Brewer was sentenced to two and half years in prison at the U.S. District Court in Bangor on Wednesday.
According to a release sent by the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Maine, 50-year-old Carol Bragdon was found guilty of wire fraud, making false statements to a mortgage lending business, and making a false statement to a licensed firearms dealer.
U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced Bragdon to 30 months imprisonment for her fraud counts and 12 months for gun crimes, to be served simultaneously, followed by three years of supervised release. The judge also ordered Bragdon to pay $177,000 in restitution. She pleaded guilty on April 13, according to the release.
Between Nov. 2020 and April 2021, Bragdon gave false statements and representations to a residential mortgage lender, to obtain a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) backed loan, the release states. She used Google email accounts to communicate with the lender and the VA to send documentation. The emails were transmitted from Maine, 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,” according to the release.
Bragdon's gun crime is considered a straw purchase—illegally purchasing a gun for someone who cannot pass a required federal background check.
These cases were investigated by the VA Office of Inspector General and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
