Fraud Charges Filed After College Basketball Team’s Bahamas Trip Canceled

FAIRFAX, Va.—A man from Atlanta has been arrested and is facing fraud charges after George Mason University’s men’s basketball team had to cancel their planned trip to the Bahamas earlier this year, having paid for travel arrangements that were ultimately never secured.

Maurice Smith, 44, the CEO of the Eugene Toriko travel agency, had charges against him unsealed on Thursday in U.S. District Court located in Alexandria, Virginia.

As detailed in an FBI affidavit, George Mason invested nearly $160,000 for a team trip to the Bahamas scheduled for August, which was supposed to feature two exhibition matches and various excursions, including a catamaran tour.

This amount was paid to a sports marketing company that had subcontracted Smith’s agency, per the affidavit.

The trip was canceled just one day before the planned departure when the team discovered that all travel bookings had expired due to lack of payment.

The affidavit claims that Smith operated his travel business akin to a Ponzi scheme, using the funds from the Virginia university for personal expenses and to issue partial refunds to previous clients who faced similar cancellations in their travel plans.

On Friday, Smith’s company did not return an email inquiry. Court documents do not indicate if he has legal representation.

The affidavit mentions that in September, Smith sent a letter to the university, attributing the trip cancellation to a “logistical error,” and expressed that he was “dedicated to learning from this experience and instituting tighter controls and processes to avert future incidents.”

Prosecutors assert that George Mason University Foundation has yet to receive any reimbursement.

George Mason University, situated in Fairfax, Virginia, competes in the Atlantic 10 conference and currently has a record of 7–3.