South Shore pair accused of fraud involving Quincy, Weymouth sober homes

BOSTON – Two South Shore men have been indicted on charges they participated in fraud involving sober homes in the Boston area, including Quincy and Weymouth, the U.S. attorney's office said Tuesday.

Daniel Cleggett, 37, of Kingston, and Nicholas Espinosa, 37, of Randolph, were charged in a 37-count indictment with two counts of wire fraud conspiracy; one count of mortgage fraud conspiracy; 21 counts of wire fraud; six counts of money laundering; and one count of making false statements to a mortgage lending business.

In addition, Cleggett was separately charged with four counts of wire fraud and two counts of making false statements to a mortgage lending business.

Federal authorities said Cleggett was the founder of the sober home business A Vision from God LLC. Established in November 2016, the business owns and operates sober homes in Quincy, Weymouth, Boston and Wakefield under trade names including Brady’s Place, Lakeshore Retreat and Lambert House, federal authorities said. Espinosa managed the day-to-day affairs.

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One of the allegations accuses Cleggett, Espinosa and a sober home client of defrauding a New York-based family trust that was paying for the client’s room and board at Brady’s Place in Quincy.

Authorities said Cleggett and Espinosa overcharged the family trust for room and board by up to $12,500 per month by submitting false and fraudulent invoices. Cleggett and Espinosa would allegedly then issue “refund” checks to the client, federal authorities said.

From about October 2019 to December 2021, Cleggett and straw purchasers, including Espinosa, bought three residential properties in Weymouth and Boston to use as sober homes, according to the charges.

"Cleggett, Espinosa and others submitted false information and fraudulent documentation including falsely representing that the three properties were intended to be purchased as primary residences when, in reality, each was intended to be a sober home," Tuesday's announcement states.

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Mass Save energy program companies

In addition to the sober home business, Cleggett operated insulation contracting companies that participated in the Mass Save program: Green Save Energy Corp.; Environmental Construction Objective Inc.; Green Giants LLC; and Insulation Situation LLC, authorities said.

Mass Save is a public/private partnership sponsored by gas and electric utility companies that funds energy conservation projects and improvements through Massachusetts residents’ utility bills.

Green Save and Environmental Construction Objective received millions of dollars for residential insulation work from a lead vendor company under the Mass Save program, federal authorities say.

They say that from 2018 through mid-2021, Green Save and Environmental Construction Objective fraudulently billed the vendor company for required permits that were not actually obtained.

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Green Save and Environmental Construction Objective were ultimately terminated from participating in the company’s program in June 2021, and Cleggett was banned from participating in the Mass Save program, authorities said.

In response, Cleggett, Espinosa and other co-conspirators formed Insulation Situation and Green Giants to enter as new lead vendors with the same company under straw owners, according to Tuesday's news release. As a result, Cleggett allegedly obtained $954,443 in payments to Green Giants and Insulation Situation despite being banned from the Mass Save program, authorities said.

Cleggett is also accused of falsely obtaining hundreds of the thousands of dollars in economic injury disaster loans and advances from the Small Business Administration. He is accused of using tens of thousands of dollars from the funds to pay for personal expenses including EZ-Pass bills, gym membership fees, pet expenses, airline tickets, car rentals, vacation trips, hotel resort stays and wedding expenses.

The pair were arrested Tuesday morning and released after appearing in federal court in Boston, according to Tuesday's news release.

Federal authorities said the Kingston, Randolph and Quincy police departments provided assistance in the case.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Feds charge South Shore men with Quincy, Weymouth sober home fraud