Judge tosses some Correia convictions
A federal judge on Monday tossed out several convictions against ex-Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia, who was found guilty by jurors of bilking investors and extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars from pot businesses.
U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock overturned eight counts of the jury’s guilty verdict against Correia that the judge said prosecutors failed to prove during the trial.
Corriea, who maintains he is innocent, remains convicted of multiple counts of wire fraud, extortion conspiracy and extortion, but the trimming of his convictions will undoubtedly impact the punishment he receives.
Correia, 29, was expected to be sentenced on Monday, but the judge said he was unpersuaded that there was enough evidence to back up several fraud counts against him stemming from allegations that Correia misused money he got from investors who backed his smartphone app called “SnoOwl” on lavish purchases for himself and his then-girlfriend.
The judge said that prosecutors failed to prove six wire fraud counts by showing that wires — or electronic communications — were used to process the checks Correia got from the investors. The judge also ruled that prosecutors failed to prove two counts of filing false tax returns.
Before the judge acquitted Correia on several counts, prosecutors had asked for 11 years in prison, pointing to what they described as Correia’s continued defiance. His lawyers had asked for three years behind bars.
Prosecutors alleged that Correia looted a bank account of funds investors gave him for his smartphone app to buy things for himself and shower his girlfriend in expensive gifts. Prosecutors said he spent investor funds on dinners at high-end restaurants, luxury hotels, casino trips and such lavish items as a Mercedes, a helicopter tour of Newport, R.I., and a $700 pair of Christian Louboutin shoes.