United States Attorneys' Office
District of Minnesota

PRESS RELEASE. Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Contact:   Rachel K. Paulose, United States Attorney 
Jeanne F. Cooney, Director of External Relations

Media Line:  1-888-264-5107

Minneapolis  -   The owner of Maus Motors of Melrose, Minnesota, and a company bookkeeper pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to federal fraud charges.  Paul N. Maus, age 39, of Melrose, Minnesota, and Amy Alice Rieland, age 44, of Grey Eagle, Minnesota, each pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to a bank.  Both entered their pleas before U.S. District Court Judge Paul A. Magnuson.

According to court documents,  Maus bought vehicles for his dealership with financing from the Freeport State Bank of Freeport, Minnesota.  Maus and Rieland executed a separate loan agreement for each vehicle.  They also pledged as security for each loan the vehicle to be purchased with those loan proceeds.  In addition, Maus agreed to repay each loan with the money made from the sale of the vehicle that served as collateral for that particular loan.  From October of 2002 to September of 2004, however, Maus sold vehicles subject to the loan agreements but failed to use the proceeds from those sales to for the sold vehicles.  They also applied for and received additional loans from the bank by pledging as collateral vehicles that already had been sold.  Through this scheme, Maus and Rieland defrauded the Freeport State Bank of approximately $246,964.

If convicted, Maus and Rieland face a maximum potential penalty of thirty years in federal prison and a $1 million fine on each count for which they pleaded guilty.  The actual sentences will be determined by Judge Magnuson.  Sentencing dates have not been set.

satisfy the related loans.  Instead, he frequently kept the money for his own use.  Moreover, after selling vehicles, Maus and Rieland induced the bank to renew the loans