Crime
Daniel Cleggett operated sober living homes in Boston, Wakefield, Quincy and Weymouth. He also defrauded a federal loan program to finance his lavish lifestyle, prosecutors said.
Daniel Cleggett (Facebook)
A Kingston man long suspected of using his sober homes and other Boston-area businesses to commit financial frauds pleaded guilty Friday to several federal charges, officials said.
Daniel Cleggett, 38, formerly of Braintree and Quincy, pleaded guilty to several charges related to his involvement in four fraudulent schemes involving his sober homes, the Mass Save program and mortgage lenders. He led a lavish lifestyle funded by a federal loan program tied 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 charge of making false statements to a mortgage company, according to the U.S. Attorney. Josué Lévy.
Cleggett founded A Vision from God LLC, established in 2016, which operated sober living 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 pleaded guilty earlier this year to similar charges, managed “the day-to-day affairs” of the homes, federal prosecutors said.
The two men, along with a sober 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 “reimbursement” checks to further the fraud, prosecutors said.
From 2019 to 2021, Cleggett also purchased three properties in Weymouth and Boston to be sober living homes, but submitted false information indicating the properties would be primary residences, according to prosecutors.
Sober homes are 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 resorts
Cleggett received a total of $794,900 from three economic disaster loan applications that falsely denied involvement in illegal activities, prosecutors said.
He used the money to pay 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 himself and his girlfriend, including spa fees and wine and caviar dinners. He used more loan funds for $37,997 in wedding expenses.
Cleggett also pleaded guilty to fraudulently earning millions of dollars through the state’s Mass Save program, a public/private partnership that funds energy conservation projects and energy improvements. By using four different companies, Cleggett received millions for residential insulation work and billed the selling company for permits that were not actually obtained. Two of his businesses were barred 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 has released two investigations into problems at its sober living 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 faces up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a $1 million fine for mortgage fraud conspiracy. The illegal monetary transaction charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
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