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FALL RIVER, Mass, (WPRI) – Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia has been arrested and charged with "investor fraud," the US Attorney's Office in Massachusetts announced on Thursday morning as the turning point for the 39, one of the youngest mayors in the country.
According to a tweet from US Attorney Andrew Lelling, Correia, 26, used the money to "finance her lavish lifestyle, her burgeoning political career, and the needs of her other businesses." The Democratic mayor has been accused for more than a year of being the victim of a federal investigation into an application company that he founded in 2012, SnoOwl.
Correia, a graduate of Providence College and elected for the first time in 2015 at the age of 23, managed to downplay corruption charges and was easily reelected last year.
The FBI office in Boston said that Correia was arrested Thursday morning in Bridgewater, where he reportedly said the mayor had social contacts last night, by FBI agents, the IRS and the office of the Inspector General of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. (The FBI corrected an initial statement that he was arrested in Fall River.)
Correia should be brought to federal court in Boston on Thursday afternoon. He is represented by veteran defense lawyer Kevin Reddington of Brockton, who was famous in the news when he represented Catherine Greig, the girlfriend of Gangster's girlfriend James "Whitey" Bulger .
Last month, Republican Governor Charlie Baker announced that Correia was crossing party lines to support his bid for reelection.
Baker's campaign removed the downstream of his website on Thursday. Terry MacCormack, a spokesman for Baker and Governor General Karyn Polito, said that they "felt these federal charges were very serious" and were committed to "ensuring that the city has the representation and leadership it deserves as the judicial process progresses. "
According to an unsealed indictment issued on Oct. 4, Correia faces nine counts of wire fraud and four counts of misrepresentation. Prosecutors claim that he used $ 231,000 out of the $ 363,000 that he accepted from seven SnoOwl investors, by lying to them about the company.
"Taxpayers must be certain that if a crime is committed, their political leadership status will not provide any protection against federal prosecutions," said Kristina O. Connell, special criminal investigator for the IRS. in Boston, at a press conference. with other law enforcement officials.
Watch the US prosecutor's press conference here. The story continues below.
One month after receiving its first $ 50,000 investor check, Correia bought a 2011 Mercedes C300 AWD sport sedan, according to prosecutors. They claim that he "systematically looted" the SnoOwl account to pay for the Mercedes, jewels, designer clothes, airline tickets and luxury hotel rooms, as well as restaurants, casinos and adult entertainment ". They also stated that he had used $ 10,000 to pay his student loans to the PC.
An important part of this money comes from an orthodontist from Massachusetts, father of Correia's friend, according to court documents. In April 2016, after this investor asked his nephew to become a SnoOwl advisor, this nephew would have sent an email to Correia about his apparent use of a "personal account to manage the company's business. … after collecting investment funds ".
"It's at best a horrible mistake, and at worst, can be considered criminal if funding gaps are not resolved," warned the nephew. Prosecutors say that Correia has never responded to the message.
Correia is also accused of lying to investors by claiming that "when he was in college, he had developed, packaged and sold an application to a Cambridge venture capital group, which Had finally sold to Facebook ". He told a story similar to an old girlfriend, according to prosecutors.
In one televised debate on the WPRI 12 last November, Correia asserted that he had not been questioned by the FBI and called speculation regarding an investigation of "rumors" fueled by his opponents.
"It did not happen," he said during the debate. "No one can confirm anything. (…) I have not heard anyone reveal that it was from a legitimate source who had nothing to do with me."
However, the indictment indicates that Correia was aware of the investigation several months prior to this debate and even went so far as to amend two years of tax returns in response to the investigation.
Look at the exchange here. The story continues below.
In January, Correia created a legal defense fund at the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. The records revealed that the fund had raised approximately $ 76,000 by September 30, including several transfers from the Correia campaign account.
At the town hall, the mayor's secretary asked a journalist to wait in front of his office. The city council secretary said other Fall River officials were meeting legal counsel and "trying to fix everything".
The indictment of Correia will prolong a period of political unrest in the 89,000-inhabitant town located along Mount Hope Bay.
Correia won the mayor's office in 2015 by defeating former Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter. Sutter became mayor only last December in a special election after voters sacked incumbent Will Flanagan, who had lost some of his life in an incident in which he allegedly raised a firearm against Correia, then city councilor, to intimidate him.
Stay with Eyewitness News as we continue to update you on the latest developments on this topic, including coverage by the WPRI 12 team tonight starting at 5pm.
Jessica Pace and John Villella contributed to this report.
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