Kingston sober homeowner faces 43 counts over 3 different fraud schemes

The Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office on Tuesday charged a sober Kingston homeowner with 43 counts of wire fraud, mortgage fraud, money laundering and other charges related to several different schemes.

In a massive indictment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Daniel Cleggett Jr., 37, allegedly ran projects involving both his sober homes and insulation businesses, the Mass Save program and loans from COVID-19 business relief.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office also charged his associate, Nicholas Espinosa, 37, a Randolph resident, with 37 counts related to the schemes.

People have suspected Cleggett and his companies of illegal and unethical activity for years. The Boston Globe previously released two surveys of its sober homes.

Despite this, the World reported, Cleggett continued to open more businesses and live a lavish life.

Cleggett’s attorney did not respond to the Globe’s requests for comment, and Espinosa declined to comment.

Low-cost housing and mortgage schemes

Two of Cleggett’s schemes involved his sober home business called A Vision From God. The company owns and operates sober homes in Weymouth and Dorchester under the name Brady’s Place, as well as Lakeshore Retreat in Wakefield and others, the statement said. Espinosa managed the sober houses.

Cleggett, Espinosa and a sober house client allegedly defrauded a New York-based family trust that paid for the client’s room and board at a Brady’s Place location, the statement said. They allegedly did this by overcharging the trust by up to $12,500 per month through fake invoices and then issuing “reimbursement” checks to the client.

Additionally, according to the statement, between October 2019 and December 2021, Cleggett purchased residential properties in Boston and Weymouth using false information. Cleggett, along with straw buyers including Espinosa, falsely claimed the houses were going to be used as primary residences when they intended to use them as sober homes.

Insulation Companies and Mass Save Programs

Another of Cleggett’s alleged schemes involved several insulation companies he owned and nearly $1 million he had raised through the Mass Save program. Mass Save uses funds from Massachusetts residents’ utility bills to pay for energy conservation projects and improvements.

Between 2018 and 2021, two of his insulation companies, Green Save Energy Corporation and Environmental Construction Objective Inc. (ECO), allegedly billed a Mass Save supplier for required permits that were not actually obtained, the statement said.

In June 2021, the supplier company banned Green Save Energy and ECO from participating in their program, and Cleggett was banned from participating in Mass Save altogether, according to the statement.

In response, according to the release, Cleggett, Espinosa and other co-conspirators allegedly used front companies to continue participating in Mass Save, and thus managed to win nearly $1 million.

COVID-19 business relief loan programs finance a lavish lifestyle

The U.S. Attorney’s Office also charged Cleggett with allegedly lying about economic disaster loan applications he submitted in 2020 on behalf of A Voice From God, Green Save Energy and sole proprietorship Daniel Cleggett. .

In applications for A Voice From God and Green Save Energy, Cleggett allegedly falsely asserted that he was not involved in illegal activities despite his alleged sober home fraud schemes, according to the release.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Daniel Cleggett’s entire sole proprietorship application was allegedly false because the corporation did not exist.

Additionally, according to the release, Cleggett allegedly used tens of thousands of dollars from the loans to pay for his personal expenses, although he agreed to use the nearly $800,000 granted to him solely for the expenses of the target companies.

Cleggett reportedly used the loans to pay for EZ-Pass bills, gym memberships, pet care, airline tickets, car rentals and vacations to Yellowstone National Park and Aruba, according to the press release.

Cleggett also reportedly used the loan money to stay at resorts and enjoy caviar dinners and spa treatments with his girlfriend. The statement said he allegedly spent an additional $38,000 on a loan for wedding expenses.

The charges against Cleggett and Espinosa

The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged Cleggett and Espinosa with two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of conspiracy to make false statements to a mortgage company, 21 counts of charge of wire fraud, six counts of illegal currency transactions and one count of misrepresentation. statements to a mortgage company.

He separately charged Cleggett with four counts of wire fraud and two counts of misrepresentation to a mortgage company.

Cleggett and Espinosa were arrested Tuesday morning and released after being arraigned in federal court in Boston, the statement said. They both face decades in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for each charge.

Cleggett has been under suspicion for years

In 2017, The Boston Globe and STAT wrote that Cleggett allegedly engaged in a practice called “brokering” in his sober houses.

In Cleggett’s case, he allegedly enlisted Bay Staters suffering from drug addiction to go to dodgy recovery centers in South Florida. Two men whose move was allegedly “brokered” by Cleggett died of drug overdoses shortly afterwards, but Cleggett denied any involvement.

The story prompted the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office to investigate sober house programs and take a closer look at the operation of addiction treatment centers across the state. In 2021, the AG’s office charged two people as a result of the investigation, including Cleggett’s partner Michael Hislop.

But Cleggett seemed to get away with it unscathed, even after the bones of a missing client from one of his sober houses were found in the backyard of one of the houses.

THE World released an investigation of the Cleggett homes after this incident. While Cleggett declined to comment on the story, Espinosa claimed the couple had the best intentions. “We really want to help people,” he said.