Travel Agent Pleads Guilty To Scamming George Mason Men’s Basketball

A travel agent who conned George Mason’s men’s basketball team has pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud.

Maurice Eugene Smith entered a plea agreement in Virginia federal court in which he agreed to pay a $250,000 fine in addition to full restitution to the George Mason University Foundation and other victims. (The scheme encompassed other schools.) In exchange, federal prosecutors recommended a reduced sentencing on July 17 for Smith, who could have served as many as 20 years behind bars if he were found guilty in a trial. 

In August 2024, George Mason’s men’s team was slated to depart for a summer trip to the Bahamas when school officials realized there was no itinerary despite the school’s foundation paying $160,000 for it. Federal authorities arrested Smith in December after an investigation.

A year before the planned trip, the Patriots basketball team contacted VII Group to help book an international trip ahead of the upcoming basketball season, according to court documents. VII Group CEO Chris Williams subcontracted Smith through a mutual friend to coordinate a trip to the Bahamas that included airfare, hotel bookings, ground travel and two scrimmages against local teams. Smith estimated to the program that the trip would cost around $150,000. 

Smith never followed through. He later confessed to using part of the money the school’s foundation paid him to pay for personal trips to Mexico and Panama City in addition to using $12,000 in ATM withdrawals. He also paid to reimburse previous victims—the quintessential structure of a Ponzi scheme.

In his plea agreement— filed April 1—Smith admitted to using client funds for personal expenses and to repay other victims instead of providing the travel services he was hired to. His crimes took place over a three-year span from 2022 to 2024. 

Before confessing his guilt, Smith previously called the George Mason unplanned trip a “logistical error.” He also told law enforcement that he would repay Mason through an insurance policy he later admitted he never had. 

George Mason wasn’t the only school caught up in Smith’s Ponzi scheme. He owes restitution to Georgia Gwinnett College for a study abroad trip to Thailand and also Reinhardt University in Georgia for help with its baseball team traveling to Louisiana for a tournament. 

Smith got the deal with Reinhardt because its athletic director was his college roommate. Despite the relationship, he failed to book the travel for the program and later admitted to using some of the money from George Mason to pay the school back. 

George Mason’s athletics department declined to comment.