Sober homeowner pleads guilty to fraud after years of suspicion

Crime

Daniel Cleggett operated sober homes in Boston, Wakefield, Quincy and Weymouth. He also defrauded a federal loan program to finance his lavish lifestyle, prosecutors said.

A Kingston man long suspected of using his sober homes and other businesses in the Boston area to commit financial scams pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges on Friday, authorities said.

Daniel Cleggett38, formerly of Braintree and Quincy, pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to his participation in four fraud schemes involving his sober homes, the Mass Save Program and mortgage lenders. He lived a lavish lifestyle funded by a federal loan program related to COVID-19 pandemic relief, prosecutors said.

Cleggett will be sentenced in March on 25 counts of wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of mortgage fraud conspiracy, six counts of money laundering and three counts of making false statements to a mortgage loan company, according to the federal prosecutor. Joshua Levy.

Cleggett founded A Vision from God LLC, established in 2016, which operated sober homes in Boston, Wakefield, Quincy and Weymouth. The houses operated under the names Brady’s Place, Lakeshore Retreat and Lambert House. His co-conspirator and associate Nicholas Espinosa, who He pleaded guilty earlier this year. Indicted on similar charges, they handled “the day-to-day affairs” of the households, federal prosecutors said.

The couple, along with a sober house client, also conspired to defraud a New York-based family trust that financed the client’s room and board at Brady’s Place in Quincy. They would overcharge the trust by up to $12,500 a month and issue “refund” checks to further the fraud, prosecutors said.

From 2019 to 2021, Cleggett also purchased three properties in Weymouth and Boston to be sober homes, but submitted false information indicating the properties would be primary residences, according to prosecutors.

Sober housing is not licensed or funded by the state, according to the Massachusetts Alliance for Sober Housing. Instead, the organization internally certifies sober living homes.

Prosecutors: Federal loans financed luxury hotel complexes

Cleggett received a total of $794,900 from three Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications that falsely denied his involvement in illegal activities, prosecutors said.

He used the money for EZ-Pass bills, gym memberships, pet expenses and plane tickets. He also financed vacations to Yellowstone, Montana and Aruba, as well as luxury hotel stays for him and his girlfriend, including spa fees and dinners with wine and caviar. She used more loan funds for $37,997 in wedding expenses.

Cleggett also pleaded guilty to fraudulently gaining millions in funds through the state’s Mass Save Program, which is a public-private partnership that funds conservation projects and energy improvements. Using four different companies, Cleggett received millions for residential insulation work and billed the supplying company for permits that were not actually obtained. Two of his companies were banned from participating in the program until he opened another business and received a total of $954,443 in payments, prosecutors said.

Previously, The Boston Globe published two investigations into problems at their sober homes, including when the bones of a missing client were found in the backyard of one of the homes.

The wire fraud and conspiracy charges carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. He could face up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a $1 million fine for the mortgage fraud conspiracy charge. The illegal monetary transactions charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com focusing on education, politics, crime and more.