McAllen freight broker admits to bilking $50k from former employer

McALLEN — A McAllen freight broker admitted to defrauding his former company of about $50,000 by cashing company checks for personal use.

Alejandro “Alex” Mascorro, 41, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and bankruptcy fraud Friday at a hearing in U.S. District Court in McAllen.

Mascorro admitted to appropriating about $50,000 in Comcheks — a money transfer system — from his former employer, Doria Enterprises LLC, without the company’s approval, according to court records.

He then made personal use of the money, prosecutors said.

The freight brokerage business provided money to its drivers with Comchek, a cash access system operated by Brentwood, Tenn.-based Comdata Network Inc. Comchek is accepted for fuel at nearly every truck stop in the country and for retail purchases at most locations.

Mascorro pleaded guilty to visiting various truck stops from January 2008 to April 2009 in the McAllen area, where he would complete Comcheks using “express codes” assigned to his company, according to court records. Mascorro turned over the Comcheks to truck stop cashiers, who would verify the account with Comdata and then turn over the cash to the freight broker.

He later altered or destroyed accounting records at his employer to hide the theft, prosecutors said.

Mascorro also pleaded guilty to making a false oath about his 2008 gross income when he filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection in federal court in McAllen in 2009, according to court records.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy enables individuals with regular income to develop a plan to repay all or part of their debts over time, usually three to five years. It allows a debtor to keep property and avoid home foreclosure.

Mascorro faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine for the wire fraud conviction. He has been in custody since his Jan. 26 arrest and will remain behind bars pending his sentencing in October.

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Jared Taylor covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.