(Casper, WY) – In a March 17th partial summary judgment, U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl found Lander resident Paul McCown defrauded a financial firm out of nearly $15 million.
This judgment stems from a lawsuit filed against McCown, the former Wyoming Catholic College chief financial officer, by Ria R Squared in June 2021.
According to court documents, R Squared wired a total of $14.7 million ($15 million minus a loan origination fee) to McCown based on false information.
The ruling states R Squared “has established its claim of fraud,” and “is entitled to an award of partial summary judgment on that claim in the amount of $14.7 million.”
A week prior to this ruling, seven federal wire fraud charges were filed against McCown. Three relate to this lawsuit and the remaining four stem from false applications to the Wyoming Business Council for CARES funds totaling over $800,000.
His initial hearing for these seven federal charges is slated for March 29th in Casper.
A bench trial is currently scheduled for December 2022 for the lawsuit filed by R Squared.