Ex-Moss Point mayor headed to prison after he obstructed justice in fraud scheme in Texas
Former Moss Point Mayor Mario King begged for mercy, but a judge dismissed those pleas and sentenced him to serve two years and six months in prison for fraud.
Judge Sul Ozerden noted the embattled mayor had obstructed justice when he failed to report to a probation officer that he was buying a home in Texas and then falsified documents in a mortgage fraud scheme to obtain a federal home loan in Texas.
He committed those acts after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud in South Mississippi.
The judge also said King’s scheme in Texas seemed to mirror the type of scheme he devised in Mississippi.
In addition to prison time, the judge fined King $8,000 and ordered him and his wife, Natasha, to pay a total of $6,937 in restitution.
Natasha King received a sentence of probation, and her attorney, Cameron McCormick, described her as a follower who would not be in the position of having a felony record had it not been for her husband’s actions. In addition to probation, the judge fined her $5,550.
Ozerden agreed Natasha likely wouldn’t have ended up facing a felony offense had she not participated in her husband’s actions.
Prior to sentencing, Mario King offered his apologies to the citizens of Moss Point for letting them down and betraying their trust. He also apologized to his children for not being the role model he should be.
The Kings brought their children, including their baby boy, to court with them.
“I am sorry,” he said. “I am sorry for the embarrassment and humiliation .. I brought to my family and friends, ... and for dragging my wife through this. I will do anything to go home with my kids today. I ask the courts to have mercy on me.”
King got to go home Thursday, but soon he’ll have to report to a federal prison to serve his time.
A ‘breech of the public trust’
The judge called the couple’s actions a “serious offense” that was a “breech of the public trust.”
He said both had appeared on television and made other pleas in the media to raise donations under the guise the money would be used to support mental health in Moss Point.
“Instead,” the judge said, the Kings “used the good will of the citizens ...to support their own personal lifestyle.”
Both husband and wife had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud in February. As part of that plea, they admitted using donations raised for mental health services at schools for Moss Point on personal items, such as down payments on a Volvo and Cadillac and to pay in full for a pedigreed dog for the family.
In exchange for their pleas, prosecutors agreed to drop 13 wire fraud charges filed in the 14-count indictment. Mario King also had to resign, effective immediately.
The day before both had been set for sentencing in June, the couple’s attorneys asked for a delay due to allegations in a pre-sentence investigative report alleging King had committed mortgage fraud in Texas.
Because attorneys Calvin Taylor and Tyler Cox felt that allegation would impact sentencing, they asked for the sentencing to be moved to another date, set for Thursday in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.
After his guilty plea in February, Mario had to step down as mayor, effective immediately.
Ex-city employee verified bogus pay for Texas mortgage loan
According to testimony Thursday, Mario King set up a private company in Texas called Remedy Health Care LLC, named himself as a virtual manager there, and claimed a salary of over $6,000 month in the mortgage loan application.
In actuality, according to the testimony, King wasn’t receiving any salary from the health care company he formed that also listed Natasha King as an employee.
As part of the fraud scheme in Texas, according to testimony Thursday, Mario King got a former Moss Point city employee and friend Brittany Johnson to write and sign a letter to verify his bogus income so he could obtain the home loan.
According a search of Texas property records, the Kings’ home in Little Elm, Texas, is valued at more than $314,000.
Donations used for personal items for mayor, wife,
The couple admitted to committing the fraud at different times from late 2018 or early 2019 to May 2019.
The crimes occurred when the couple used some donations to cover the costs the Mayor’s Gala, an event promoted as a fundraiser, but the couple used some of the cash donations to pay for personal expenses.
As part of the scheme to defraud the government, the couple moved some of the donations into a bank account Natasha opened in the name of the couple’s personal business, Rejuvenate LLC.
The wire fraud charges referred to donations the couple transferred from PayPal to the Rejuvenate account, plus withdrawals from the account for personal expenses.
Becoming Moss Point’s mayor
At the age of 30, Mario King, a Democrat, was elected as mayor of Moss Point in June 2017. He had announced prior to entered his guilty plea that he did not plan to run for a second term.
The plea agreement in federal case prevented him from doing so.
During his years as mayor, King’s tenure was marked by controversy, including an arrest for a domestic violence charge involving his wife, though the case was dismissed when Natasha refused to testify against her husband.
Federal prosecutors had identified up to 25 victims of the fraud, including the Moss Point School District.
Many of the victims told investigators they never would not have made any donations had they known the money would be used for something other than the intended purpose.
The Mississippi State Auditor’s Office and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Meynardie prosecuted the case.
This story was originally published July 22, 2021 at 2:09 PM.
