Matthew Cox
Encyclopedia
Matthew Bevan Cox commonly known as Matthew Cox, also sometimes known as Matthew B. Cox and Matt Cox, is an American felon
and con man
who has been convicted of conspiracy
and grand theft
. Cox, also an aspiring author, wrote an unpublished manuscript entitled The Associates in which the main character traveled the country committing mortgage fraud
just as Cox later did. While incarcerated he has been working on a crime thriller, A Shark In The Housing Pool: Memoir Of A Secret Service's Most Wanted, which chronicles his life on the run.
Cox falsified documents to make it appear that he owned properties, and then fraudulently obtained several mortgages on them for five to six times their actual worth. He acquired millions of dollars this way; estimates report the amount at between US$5 and $25 million. Cox's first conviction occurred in 2002 when he was sentenced to probation for mortgage fraud. He was then fired from the mortgage broker position he held in a Tampa, Florida
area firm. He began his life as a dedicated criminal in central Florida after that offense, before fleeing the area when his activities were discovered. His crime spree continued across the southern US, eventually landing him on the Secret Service's Most Wanted list
. He was aided by several female accomplices, some of whom are in prison or have served time there for their participation in his fraudulent mortgage practices. Cox was arrested on November 16, 2006. Indicted on 42 counts, and facing prison sentences of up to 400 years, he plea bargain
ed his sentence down to a maximum of 54 years on April 11, 2007 and was sentenced to 26 years on November 17. He is currently in a low-security prison in Florida.
, Cox struggled in school due to severe dyslexia
. His teachers advised him to get a job in which he worked with his hands, so he studied sculpture at the University of South Florida
, and majored in Art. Rather than follow art, Cox took a job as an insurance agent after college, but his income disappointed him, and he sought out different, more high-paying work.
Cox left his job as an insurance agent to work as a mortgage broker
for a local company. While there he developed a reputation for unscrupulousness, which was heightened by his authorship of an unpublished 317-page manuscript
entitled The Associates. The novel's protagonist, written obviously as a copy of himself, travels the country committing mortgage fraud. Cox told co-workers about the book, and elaborated its details to them. "He sent it to a lot of people to see if they thought it worked" said a former co-worker. After being fired from the company when he was convicted of mortgage fraud in 2002, Cox faked a good credit history
, and used that to buy dozens of homes and properties. In one instance he used the social security number of a toddler, and all of his documents—references, bank letters, rent receipts, W-2s from nonexistent employees—were counterfeit. He used his skills as an artist to decorate the properties with elaborate art deco
-style murals. Several of his future girlfriends said that his painting talents were part of his allure, though St. Petersburg Times said that his works were merely copies of murals by Tamara de Lempicka
. Cox charmed Alison Arnold, a young local married woman, into believing he could give her a wealthy and luxurious life. While courting Arnold she said he took her to crime films such as The Italian Job
and Catch Me if You Can
—which he reportedly adored and watched several times—and began to detail his criminal plans to her.
Cox often filed fraudulent mortgage documents, and in several cases was able to mortgage properties for five to six times their actual worth. In this practice, known as "flipping" in the real estate community, Cox either himself forged or had accomplices attain inflated appraisals to increase the value of the mortgages. One of his accomplices was a detention officer, who acquired 14 properties worth nearly $600,000, while making $35,568 a year in his job. Cox took advantage of the Hillsborough County
school district by selling it a property for much more than its appraised value, and arranged financing on a $90,000 house for local politician Janet Cruz. He recorded that sale for $233,000, and hired Cruz to do some rezoning research. Cruz claims she was unaware he inflated the sale price, and that she was never paid for her research. When a female accomplice rented a house in Pinellas County as part of Cox's schemes, then faked ownership of the property, the owner found out about the fraud. A title company manager had become suspicious of a loan Cox's accomplice was applying for on the home and called the property's real owner. The Clearwater
Police department was contacted, and they began an investigation.
Cox and Arnold grew apart and eventually Cox began courting another woman. Rebecca Hauck, a divorced mother, moved to Tampa after falling into debt and declaring Bankruptcy
in Las Vegas
. She had already committed criminal offenses before meeting Cox; Hauck was fired from a job in Las Vegas for forging her employer's name on checks that she used to pay her debts. They met through an online dating service. She, unlike Arnold, was willing to leave her son. After finding out that a local newspaper, the St. Petersburg Times
, was investigating him, Cox and Hauck fled town. Two days later, on December 14, 2003, a story entitled "Dubious housing deals line avenue" arrived on newsstands.
The story detailed Urban Equities Inc. an investment company started by Cox. His ex-wife Keyla Burgos, who is mother to his son, was one of the two shareholders. Despite her involvement in the purchase or sale of 58 properties in six years, she claimed that her and the other remaining shareholder were "incapable of operating or managing Urban Equity", so the company was put into receivership
. His partners claimed to be unaware of Cox's dealings, and they were financially ruined by the collapse of the company.
, Georgia
, where he and Hauck settled. He became a fugitive when he failed to report to his probation officers. During this period, he traveled to Mobile
, Alabama
, and using the identity of a former co-worker, acquired credit cards and the credit needed to rent a home. After filing false documents that indicated he owned the house, Cox took out mortgages on the property for several hundred thousand dollars. He took out one mortgage under the name of The Simpsons
character "C. Montgomery Burns". Cox acquired several more properties, then the couple moved to the Tallahassee
, Florida
area.
Authorities in the Atlanta area discovered Cox's activities, and eventually his identity. On August 6, 2004, police issued arrest warrants
for conspiracy
, stolen identification documents, mail and wire fraud
, money laundering
and social security number fraud. News broadcasts showed photos of Cox and Hauck and requested that viewers provide any information pertaining to their whereabouts. By spring 2005, the couple had eluded authorities for eighteen months, using dozens of identities, including ones stolen from former co-workers and acquaintances. Cox also stole identities from the homeless by posing as a survey–taking Red Cross worker to acquire their social security
numbers. At this point, due to remorse and anxiety, Arnold called the FBI and confessed. She was sentenced to two years in prison for numerous offenses, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and identity theft
. Arnold was also ordered to pay $300,000 dollars in restitution to her victims. Shortly thereafter, Cox filed multiple mortgages on two houses for $886,318 in Columbia
, South Carolina
in less than a week. An abstractor
noticed this, and a fraud alert was issued on one of Cox's money laundering bank accounts. He was arrested when he returned to the bank to make a transaction, but he told authorities his name was Gary Lee Sullivan, one of about thirty aliases
Cox had at the time, and because Sullivan had no open warrants the police released him. Shortly afterwards, Cox and Hauck moved to Houston, but they separated and she remained there in hiding under an assumed name. A year later the Secret Service
found Hauck and arrested her. Convicted on numerous counts, Hauck was sentenced to six years in prison, and five years of supervised release. In May 2006, after being on the run from authorities for two and a half years, Cox was placed on the Secret Service's Most Wanted List.
, Tennessee
under the name Joseph Carter. He was dating a single mother, Amanda Gardner, who was unaware of his criminal past, and posing as the owner of a home restoration business. told her he was from a wealthy family, and his silver 2005 Infiniti
and "fashionably decorated bungalow" seemed to confirm this. Cox used a falsified passport to travel to Europe on a cruise of the Greek Isles with Gardner, a new friend Brian Williamson, and Williamson's wife. He did not spend much time in Italy or Greece due to his intense fear of Interpol
. He was reported by Gardner's 60 year old babysitter, Patsy Taylor. She became suspicious of Cox, so she researched him online, where she discovered his identity. Taylor was put in contact with the attorney of Rebecca Hauck by a St. Petersburg Times reporter. Hauck's family paid Taylor for Cox's address, as this information could be used to reduce Hauck's sentence. He temporarily escaped capture due to a chance series of events. Cox and his girlfriend's home was burglarized
, and he temporarily moved himself and Gardner to a hotel. On November 16, 2006, Cox was arrested by a half dozen Secret Service agents—who had been pursuing him for over two years—when he and Gardener returned from the hotel. He had been building Williamson a house via his fake identity and credit history, but, fortunately for his friend, he was arrested before Williamson could give him a down payment. Hauck's sentence was later reduced from 70 to 42 months as a result of her assistance in Cox's capture.
sentenced Cox to 26 years in prison. He also ordered Cox to pay $5.97 million in restitution. He will not be eligible for release until 2026.
Depending on the source, estimates of the amount of money Cox fraudulently obtained vary from $5 million, to over $15 million, to more than $25 million. He is believed to have fraudulently mortgaged more than 100 properties. Cox is serving a 26 year sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI), a low-security facility in Coleman, Florida. He was ordered to pay $5.97 million in restitution, and testify against his co-conspirators. Although as of 2010, the United States Attorney's office
has not brought charges against any of his 13 Tampa area cohorts, even Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Mosakowski informed a judge in 2005 that he planned to bring charges against up to 13 accomplices.
While in prison, Cox mailed several letters to the St. Petersburg Times
in 2008 in which he accused politician Kevin White of taking bribes from him during Cox's criminal career. He claims he made payoffs to White, who was then a Tampa City Council candidate, in 2002 and 2003. Cox said White told him he could not receive the money directly, so he should have his friends each donate $500 and then reimburse them. Records and statements from those who donated show that Cox did in fact make numerous contributions to White's campaign, and reimbursed others who did so as well. White, he claims, agreed to vote to rezone vacant properties in Tampa and Ybor City. When Cox was first arrested the FBI talked to him about White, who they were also investigating, and he told them the same information. He claimed to have paid him $7,000 in cash in addition to the recorded contributions he arranged. When White and a fellow City Council member were told Cox's contributions might have been illegal in 2004, his colleague told the police, while White kept silent. White has denied that he knew these contributions were reimbursed, and called Cox's accusations "the jailhouse ramblings of a reputed con man." White said he befriended Cox when he came to believe the con man was interested in revitalizing Tampa Heights. Cox fled the Tampa area before White cast any rezoning votes, so there is no voting record which could help confirm the validity of his accusations.
, illegally acquired Tampa real estate worth $2.7 million, were alumni of the University of South Florida, had an intense fear of Interpol, and formerly worked as insurance seller.
In the novel, the protagonist and a female accomplice rent a home like the one Cox and Hauck rented in Atlanta. The character then opens accounts at several banks in the area so that he can use them for money laundering purposes, which Cox did. Then, Cox, like the character in the manuscript, forged a document, claiming that the mortgage on the home—which he did not even own—was paid off. The character in the manuscript then contacted lenders, and told them he owned the property outright. Cox is in prison for this same crime.
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
and con man
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
who has been convicted of conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
and grand theft
Grand theft
Grand theft or grand larceny is a category used to rank the severity of crime associated with theft.Generally, in the United States it is defined as intentional taking property of others in an amount exceeding the state statutory amount....
. Cox, also an aspiring author, wrote an unpublished manuscript entitled The Associates in which the main character traveled the country committing mortgage fraud
Mortgage fraud
Mortgage fraud is crime in which the intent is to materially misrepresent or omit information on a mortgage loan application to obtain a loan or to obtain a larger loan than would have been obtained had the lender or borrower known the truth....
just as Cox later did. While incarcerated he has been working on a crime thriller, A Shark In The Housing Pool: Memoir Of A Secret Service's Most Wanted, which chronicles his life on the run.
Cox falsified documents to make it appear that he owned properties, and then fraudulently obtained several mortgages on them for five to six times their actual worth. He acquired millions of dollars this way; estimates report the amount at between US$5 and $25 million. Cox's first conviction occurred in 2002 when he was sentenced to probation for mortgage fraud. He was then fired from the mortgage broker position he held in a Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
area firm. He began his life as a dedicated criminal in central Florida after that offense, before fleeing the area when his activities were discovered. His crime spree continued across the southern US, eventually landing him on the Secret Service's Most Wanted list
United States Secret Service Most Wanted Fugitives
The United States Secret Service Most Wanted Fugitives is a list compiled by the agency of the most wanted fugitives, with a focus on those wanted for fraud and identity theft.-External links:*...
. He was aided by several female accomplices, some of whom are in prison or have served time there for their participation in his fraudulent mortgage practices. Cox was arrested on November 16, 2006. Indicted on 42 counts, and facing prison sentences of up to 400 years, he plea bargain
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
ed his sentence down to a maximum of 54 years on April 11, 2007 and was sentenced to 26 years on November 17. He is currently in a low-security prison in Florida.
Early life
Born in FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Cox struggled in school due to severe dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
. His teachers advised him to get a job in which he worked with his hands, so he studied sculpture at the University of South Florida
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
, and majored in Art. Rather than follow art, Cox took a job as an insurance agent after college, but his income disappointed him, and he sought out different, more high-paying work.
Tampa, Florida
Mortgage broker
A mortgage broker acts as an intermediary whose brokers mortgage loans on behalf of individuals or businesses.Traditionally, banks and other lending institutions have sold their own products. However as markets for mortgages have become more competitive, the role of the mortgage broker has become...
for a local company. While there he developed a reputation for unscrupulousness, which was heightened by his authorship of an unpublished 317-page manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
entitled The Associates. The novel's protagonist, written obviously as a copy of himself, travels the country committing mortgage fraud. Cox told co-workers about the book, and elaborated its details to them. "He sent it to a lot of people to see if they thought it worked" said a former co-worker. After being fired from the company when he was convicted of mortgage fraud in 2002, Cox faked a good credit history
Credit score (United States)
A credit score in the United States is a number representing the creditworthiness of a person, the likelihood that person will pay his or her debts....
, and used that to buy dozens of homes and properties. In one instance he used the social security number of a toddler, and all of his documents—references, bank letters, rent receipts, W-2s from nonexistent employees—were counterfeit. He used his skills as an artist to decorate the properties with elaborate art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
-style murals. Several of his future girlfriends said that his painting talents were part of his allure, though St. Petersburg Times said that his works were merely copies of murals by Tamara de Lempicka
Tamara de Lempicka
Tamara de Lempicka , born Maria Górska in Moscow, in the Russian Empire, was a Polish Art Deco painter and "the first woman artist to be a glamour star."- Early life :...
. Cox charmed Alison Arnold, a young local married woman, into believing he could give her a wealthy and luxurious life. While courting Arnold she said he took her to crime films such as The Italian Job
The Italian Job (2003 film)
The Italian Job is a 2003 heist film directed by F. Gary Gray. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Seth Green, Jason Statham, Mos Def, and Donald Sutherland. It is an American remake of a 1969 British film of the same name, and is about a team of thieves who plan to steal...
and Catch Me if You Can
Catch Me If You Can
Catch Me If You Can is a 2002 American biographical comedy-drama film based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully performed cons worth millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor, and a Louisiana parish prosecutor...
—which he reportedly adored and watched several times—and began to detail his criminal plans to her.
Cox often filed fraudulent mortgage documents, and in several cases was able to mortgage properties for five to six times their actual worth. In this practice, known as "flipping" in the real estate community, Cox either himself forged or had accomplices attain inflated appraisals to increase the value of the mortgages. One of his accomplices was a detention officer, who acquired 14 properties worth nearly $600,000, while making $35,568 a year in his job. Cox took advantage of the Hillsborough County
Hillsborough County, Florida
As of the census of 2000, there were 998,948 people, 391,357 households, and 255,164 families residing in the county. The population density was 951 people per square mile . There were 425,962 housing units at an average density of 405 per square mile...
school district by selling it a property for much more than its appraised value, and arranged financing on a $90,000 house for local politician Janet Cruz. He recorded that sale for $233,000, and hired Cruz to do some rezoning research. Cruz claims she was unaware he inflated the sale price, and that she was never paid for her research. When a female accomplice rented a house in Pinellas County as part of Cox's schemes, then faked ownership of the property, the owner found out about the fraud. A title company manager had become suspicious of a loan Cox's accomplice was applying for on the home and called the property's real owner. The Clearwater
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...
Police department was contacted, and they began an investigation.
Cox and Arnold grew apart and eventually Cox began courting another woman. Rebecca Hauck, a divorced mother, moved to Tampa after falling into debt and declaring Bankruptcy
Chapter 7, Title 11, United States Code
Chapter 7 of the Title 11 of the United States Code governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
. She had already committed criminal offenses before meeting Cox; Hauck was fired from a job in Las Vegas for forging her employer's name on checks that she used to pay her debts. They met through an online dating service. She, unlike Arnold, was willing to leave her son. After finding out that a local newspaper, the St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
, was investigating him, Cox and Hauck fled town. Two days later, on December 14, 2003, a story entitled "Dubious housing deals line avenue" arrived on newsstands.
The story detailed Urban Equities Inc. an investment company started by Cox. His ex-wife Keyla Burgos, who is mother to his son, was one of the two shareholders. Despite her involvement in the purchase or sale of 58 properties in six years, she claimed that her and the other remaining shareholder were "incapable of operating or managing Urban Equity", so the company was put into receivership
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
. His partners claimed to be unaware of Cox's dealings, and they were financially ruined by the collapse of the company.
Crime spree across the southern states
Cox travelled to AtlantaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, where he and Hauck settled. He became a fugitive when he failed to report to his probation officers. During this period, he traveled to Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, and using the identity of a former co-worker, acquired credit cards and the credit needed to rent a home. After filing false documents that indicated he owned the house, Cox took out mortgages on the property for several hundred thousand dollars. He took out one mortgage under the name of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
character "C. Montgomery Burns". Cox acquired several more properties, then the couple moved to the Tallahassee
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
area.
Authorities in the Atlanta area discovered Cox's activities, and eventually his identity. On August 6, 2004, police issued arrest warrants
Warrant (law)
Most often, the term warrant refers to a specific type of authorization; a writ issued by a competent officer, usually a judge or magistrate, which permits an otherwise illegal act that would violate individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from damages if the act is...
for conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
, stolen identification documents, mail and wire fraud
Wire fraud
Mail and wire fraud is a federal crime in the United States. Together, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, and 1346 reach any fraudulent scheme or artifice to intentionally deprive another of property or honest services with a nexus to mail or wire communication....
, money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
and social security number fraud. News broadcasts showed photos of Cox and Hauck and requested that viewers provide any information pertaining to their whereabouts. By spring 2005, the couple had eluded authorities for eighteen months, using dozens of identities, including ones stolen from former co-workers and acquaintances. Cox also stole identities from the homeless by posing as a survey–taking Red Cross worker to acquire their social security
Social security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
numbers. At this point, due to remorse and anxiety, Arnold called the FBI and confessed. She was sentenced to two years in prison for numerous offenses, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and identity theft
Identity theft
Identity theft is a form of stealing another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name...
. Arnold was also ordered to pay $300,000 dollars in restitution to her victims. Shortly thereafter, Cox filed multiple mortgages on two houses for $886,318 in Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
in less than a week. An abstractor
Abstractor of title
An abstractor of title is a person who prepares and certified the condensed history of the ownership of a particular parcel of real estate, consisting of a summary of the original grant and all subsequent conveyances and encumbrances affecting the property....
noticed this, and a fraud alert was issued on one of Cox's money laundering bank accounts. He was arrested when he returned to the bank to make a transaction, but he told authorities his name was Gary Lee Sullivan, one of about thirty aliases
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Cox had at the time, and because Sullivan had no open warrants the police released him. Shortly afterwards, Cox and Hauck moved to Houston, but they separated and she remained there in hiding under an assumed name. A year later the Secret Service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
found Hauck and arrested her. Convicted on numerous counts, Hauck was sentenced to six years in prison, and five years of supervised release. In May 2006, after being on the run from authorities for two and a half years, Cox was placed on the Secret Service's Most Wanted List.
Nashville, Tennessee
The week that Hauck was sentenced to prison, Cox was living in NashvilleNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
under the name Joseph Carter. He was dating a single mother, Amanda Gardner, who was unaware of his criminal past, and posing as the owner of a home restoration business. told her he was from a wealthy family, and his silver 2005 Infiniti
Infiniti
is the luxury division of automaker Nissan. Infiniti officially started selling vehicles on November 8, 1989 in North America. Marketing operations have since grown to include the Middle East, South Korea, Russia, Taiwan, China, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Infiniti began sales in additional...
and "fashionably decorated bungalow" seemed to confirm this. Cox used a falsified passport to travel to Europe on a cruise of the Greek Isles with Gardner, a new friend Brian Williamson, and Williamson's wife. He did not spend much time in Italy or Greece due to his intense fear of Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
. He was reported by Gardner's 60 year old babysitter, Patsy Taylor. She became suspicious of Cox, so she researched him online, where she discovered his identity. Taylor was put in contact with the attorney of Rebecca Hauck by a St. Petersburg Times reporter. Hauck's family paid Taylor for Cox's address, as this information could be used to reduce Hauck's sentence. He temporarily escaped capture due to a chance series of events. Cox and his girlfriend's home was burglarized
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
, and he temporarily moved himself and Gardner to a hotel. On November 16, 2006, Cox was arrested by a half dozen Secret Service agents—who had been pursuing him for over two years—when he and Gardener returned from the hotel. He had been building Williamson a house via his fake identity and credit history, but, fortunately for his friend, he was arrested before Williamson could give him a down payment. Hauck's sentence was later reduced from 70 to 42 months as a result of her assistance in Cox's capture.
Prison
Cox faced 42 counts of fraud, in addition to felony charges for fleeing while on probation from a previous conviction. Facing potential prison sentences of over 400 years, he negotiated a plea bargain agreement that gave him a maximum of 54 years, and a $2 million fine. On November 16, federal judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr.Timothy C. Batten, Sr.
Timothy Carroll Batten, Sr. is a United States federal judge.Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Batten received a B.S. from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1981 and a J.D. from the University of Georgia in 1984. He was in private practice in Atlanta from 1984 to 2006.On September 28, 2005, Batten was...
sentenced Cox to 26 years in prison. He also ordered Cox to pay $5.97 million in restitution. He will not be eligible for release until 2026.
Depending on the source, estimates of the amount of money Cox fraudulently obtained vary from $5 million, to over $15 million, to more than $25 million. He is believed to have fraudulently mortgaged more than 100 properties. Cox is serving a 26 year sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI), a low-security facility in Coleman, Florida. He was ordered to pay $5.97 million in restitution, and testify against his co-conspirators. Although as of 2010, the United States Attorney's office
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
has not brought charges against any of his 13 Tampa area cohorts, even Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Mosakowski informed a judge in 2005 that he planned to bring charges against up to 13 accomplices.
While in prison, Cox mailed several letters to the St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
in 2008 in which he accused politician Kevin White of taking bribes from him during Cox's criminal career. He claims he made payoffs to White, who was then a Tampa City Council candidate, in 2002 and 2003. Cox said White told him he could not receive the money directly, so he should have his friends each donate $500 and then reimburse them. Records and statements from those who donated show that Cox did in fact make numerous contributions to White's campaign, and reimbursed others who did so as well. White, he claims, agreed to vote to rezone vacant properties in Tampa and Ybor City. When Cox was first arrested the FBI talked to him about White, who they were also investigating, and he told them the same information. He claimed to have paid him $7,000 in cash in addition to the recorded contributions he arranged. When White and a fellow City Council member were told Cox's contributions might have been illegal in 2004, his colleague told the police, while White kept silent. White has denied that he knew these contributions were reimbursed, and called Cox's accusations "the jailhouse ramblings of a reputed con man." White said he befriended Cox when he came to believe the con man was interested in revitalizing Tampa Heights. Cox fled the Tampa area before White cast any rezoning votes, so there is no voting record which could help confirm the validity of his accusations.
Unpublished novel
Authorities were amazed by the similarities between Cox's actual crimes and the manuscript, which they found several years before Cox was arrested. The fictional character is 5 ft 7 in (170 cm), has brown hair and blue eyes. Cox is 5 ft 6 in (168 cm), has brown hair and green eyes. Both the fictional character and Cox drove a silver Audi TTAudi TT
The Audi TT is a two-door sports car manufactured by the German automaker and Volkswagen Group subsidiary Audi since 1998.The Audi TT has been produced in two generations. Both generations have been available in two car body styles; as a 2+2 Coupé, or two-seater Roadster...
, illegally acquired Tampa real estate worth $2.7 million, were alumni of the University of South Florida, had an intense fear of Interpol, and formerly worked as insurance seller.
In the novel, the protagonist and a female accomplice rent a home like the one Cox and Hauck rented in Atlanta. The character then opens accounts at several banks in the area so that he can use them for money laundering purposes, which Cox did. Then, Cox, like the character in the manuscript, forged a document, claiming that the mortgage on the home—which he did not even own—was paid off. The character in the manuscript then contacted lenders, and told them he owned the property outright. Cox is in prison for this same crime.
External links
- Art collection at dateline.msnbc.com
- Coverage of Matthew Cox from real estate fraud blog FlippingFrenzy.com
- DOJ press release
- Inmate information at Federal Bureau of PrisonsFederal Bureau of PrisonsThe Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...