Prosecutors call him a prolific fraudster who employed a variety of schemes over 40 years, including forgery. His Twitter account describes him as an entrepreneur “who loves democracy, his family, horses and a lot of technology.”
The agent, Jennifer Lapiano, said Exposito’s wife told the defendant in jail phone calls that McCaskill would use her political connections to try to win Exposito’s release.“And so, other than moving money around, the very first thing these folks are doing is trying to … use political influence to influence these proceedings?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Johnson asked the agent.
Johnson, the judge, said at the hearing that the conversation in question reflected Exposito’s motivations.“Defendant and Ms. Exposito discussed his stepmother using her political connections to influence this case,” she said. “Defendant’s discussion, regardless of whether his stepmother in fact agreed to do so, shows a willingness to undermine court proceedings.”
Lavin, 63, who lived in Frisco, was expected to turn himself in but committed suicide on April 2, two days before the detention hearing, according to court records.“He seemed concerned that the whole case would now fall on him,” she said. Exposito served as Fenton Motors’ chief operating officer from April 2016 to December 2018, with an annual salary of $240,000, according to the indictment, filed in the Eastern District of Texas.
The feds took control of Mark Exposito's horse and cattle ranch in northern Arizona that they said was bought using stolen money.“As the dealerships began to suffer they would, you know, return the stolen money to keep the dealerships afloat,” said Lapiano, the FBI agent.The defendants used the stolen money to pay off personal credit cards and buy real estate, vehicles, jewelry, designer clothing, high-end goods and first-class air travel, the indictment said.