Correia indictment is latest coup for Lelling
Well, it’s one way to pay off your college loan.
And that is to allegedly rip off a bunch of well-meaning investors in an investment scheme called SnoOwl. Better it should have been called SnowJob.
That is what U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling alleged that Jasiel F. Correia II, the young mayor of Fall River, did. Correia, 26, was indicted, arrested and arraigned on nine counts of wire fraud and four counts of filing false tax returns.
And he smiled through the whole ordeal.
Correia, who supported Gov. Charlie Baker, has declined Baker’s request to step aside until the matter is resolved.
According to Lelling, Correia set up a SnoOwl investment app designed to connect local businesses with their target consumer market. Seven individuals invested $363,690 in SnoOwl.
Instead of using the money for investment purposes for the clients, Correia used it to invest in himself, according to the indictment. Lelling said that Correia used at least $231,447 of the sum “to fund his own lifestyle.”
Correia spent the money “to purchase tens of thousands of dollars of luxury items, including a Mercedes, jewelry and designer clothing; to pay for personal travel and entertainment, including tens of thousands of dollars on airfare, hotels, restaurants, casinos and adult entertainment,” Lelling said.
And oh, yes, he also used part of the money pay down his personal student loan debt. College is expensive, you know.
Correia, who once interned for former U.S. Sen. John Kerry, is a graduate of Providence College.
The boy wonder of Fall River politics — he ran for city council at age 21 and became mayor at age 23 — should have thrown himself at the mercy of the court upon his arraignment last week.
He could have told the judge that he was poor and that he had to take out loans to pay for college. If college were free, as the Democrats and progressives want, he could have argued, none of this would have happened.
Kidding aside, one thing is clear about the latest crackdown on political corruption and crime in Massachusetts. And that is that U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling means business.
Lelling, a career prosecutor who was appointed U.S. Attorney in December 2017, has done more to combat corruption and drug crime in four months than Attorney General Maura Healey has done in four years.
While Healey, the state’s “chief law enforcement officer,” has been busy suing President Trump, Lelling has been racking up one criminal success story after another.
Last week a third Massachusetts state trooper pleaded guilty to federal overtime embezzlement charges brought about by Lelling’s investigation into the police agency. Three other troopers have been charged because of Lelling’s investigation.
The day after suspended trooper Gary Herman of Chester pleaded guilty to federal overtime embezzlement charges, Healey, play- ing catch-up, touted the arraignment of two former state police commanders on similar charges, and the arraignment of a third who was already facing federal charges in Lelling’s probe.
While Healey — and Gov. Charlie Baker — have talked a lot about combating drug abuse — Lelling has acted. Earlier this month his office led a raid in Greater Lawrence, arresting 35 individuals on drug trafficking, firearms and immigration offenses. All had criminal records.
Two weeks ago, Lelling announced the break-up of an East Boston MS-13 gang, in which its leader, Herzzon Sandoval was sentenced to 20 years in prison on drug racketeering under the federal RICO statute.
Sandoval was one of 49 defendants convicted as part of the case, including nine who went to trial and 40 others who pleaded guilty.
One of those defendants, Joel Martinez, was sentenced to 40 years in prison in May for the murder of a 15-year-old boy in East Boston in 2016.
With Lelling around, Healey can stay busy suing Trump.