[ad_1]
TEWKSBURY — A Tewksbury man will serve up to 10 years in state prison after pleading guilty to charges connected to a contractor scam that cheated 17 victims out of more than $1 million.
Pasqualino Vittorio Spadorcia pleaded guilty to 17 counts of larceny by false pretenses and being a common and notorious thief for “repeatedly and continually committing larceny by contracting to perform substantial home improvement repairs and projects with no intentions of completing the projects,” according to a press release from the office of Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.
“This defendant repeatedly and intentionally cheated homeowners of their money by lying about both his expertise and the legitimacy of his business,” Ryan said in a statement. “Further, he made explicit efforts to create a false image of legitimacy which significantly hindered victims’ ability to conduct their own research of the business before engaging in business with him. His actions cost homeowners significant financial loss and worse, despite spending their money, the home renovations were never completed.”
The indictment included 17 victims, but more than 100 homeowner victims were identified during the investigation, and additional victims have since come forward, according to the DA’s office.
Judge Janice Howe sentenced Spadorcia to serve eight to 10 years in prison, followed by probation, during which he must begin paying restitution of nearly $1.15 million to the victims he defrauded. Six months after his release from prison, he will have a hearing to determine his financial ability to make the restitution payments.
Other conditions of probation require that he seek and maintain employment, not apply for a Contractor’s License for Home Improvements from the state, must file federal and state tax returns as required annually and provide a copy to probation, as well as provide probation with an annual statement of assets and liabilities, income and expenses.
According to the press release, from 2018 to 2021, Spadorcia owned and operated Design Concepts Pro Contractors Inc., a licensed home improvement company that did business out of his Tewksbury home. The Massachusetts Secretary of State dissolved the corporation in December.
Investigators found that the business only appeared legitimate because of actions taken by Spadorcia to give prospective clients that impression. On the Design Concepts website, he misrepresented stock photos of home improvement projects as work done by his company, prosecutors said. He also paid to have Design Concepts listed on Angie’s List, and artificially inflated his ratings “by submitting dozens of bogus, but exceedingly flowery, positive reviews, so that the positive reviews far outnumbered the negative reviews submitted by actual clients,” according to the press release.
Once contracted with a client, Spadorcia sought substantial deposits at the time of signing, often exceeding the one-third of the total contract price allowed under state law. In many instances, he would delay beginning the work or do none at all, keeping the money.
Spadorcia also conducted and charged clients for unnecessary demolition work, as well as collected payment for such supplies as kitchen fixtures and cabinets. However, he never ordered the items and failed to pay subcontractors.
Middlesex County wasn’t the only place where Spadorcia pursued his scams, according to the DA’s office. He also stole from homeowners in Essex, Norfolk, Worcester, Plymouth, Bristol and Suffolk counties, and in New Hampshire, the DA’s office said.
Assistant District Attorneys Doug Cannon and Michael Klunder prosecuted the case. Rene Leone was the victim witness advocate.
[ad_2]
Source link
