Gardena scamster sentenced to prison

He will serve more than 13 years in federal prison for a multi-year fraud

A Gardena man who ran a multi-year scam and defrauded lenders of nearly $1 million was sentenced Monday to 13 ½ years in prison, federal prosecutors announced.

Troy Rustill Stroud, 54, was sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in August 2020. When he pleaded guilty, “Variety” reported that Stroud was an independent film producer and director known as Grayson Stroud.

He was also ordered to pay $968,196 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Stroud had been in federal custody since his arrest in May 2020.

Stroud created several “shell corporations” — companies that purported to be in business, but did none — that included kitchen remodeling companies Glorious Oak Company and Glossy Grape

Investments Inc. and an audio visual company, Polished Pine Group, prosecutors said.

Stroud then applied for business loans from at least 22 financial institutions using the names of 14 companies, U.S. Justice Department prosecutors said in a news release. He then conducted a series of transfers from bank accounts in some of his corporations’ names to companies held in other names to make it appear his corporations were engaging in business, the news release said.

Stroud also paid other people to pretend to be corporate officers and then used their names to apply online for business loans. Stroud then falsely reported that the shell companies had substantial revenues when in fact they had none, according to the release.

Stroud then used the loan proceeds to pay for personal expenses before defaulting on them immediately or after a payment or two, the release said.

Stroud admitted that his scheme to defraud lenders caused $968,169 in losses, according to the release.

Charles James Snyder, Stroud’s attorney, did not immediately return a request for comment regarding the matter.

The FBI investigated the case, the Justice Department said.