Weekly Real Estate News
Summary
A former Meriden and Groton housing authority executive faces federal charges over an alleged $16.2 million loan scheme involving false authorizations and diverted funds.
A former executive director of two Connecticut housing authorities has been indicted on federal fraud and money-laundering charges in a case prosecutors say involved a $16.2 million loan allegedly obtained with fraudulent authorization documents.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut announced the charges Thursday against Robert Cappelletti, the former executive director of the Meriden Housing Authority and Groton Housing Authority. The charges are allegations, and Cappelletti is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Prosecutors say false resolutions supported the loan
According to the indictment, Cappelletti falsely represented to a lender that the Meriden Redevelopment Commission and Meriden Housing Authority had authorized a loan transaction. Prosecutors allege he supported that representation with fraudulent resolutions purporting to show approval from the two entities.
Prosecutors allege Cappelletti fraudulently borrowed $16.2 million, purportedly on behalf of the Maynard Road Corporation. In July 2022, the lender wired $13,961,750 in net proceeds after costs and fees to a Maynard Road Corporation bank account, according to the government.
Prosecutors allege Cappelletti then directed a series of transactions intended to enrich himself and conceal the conduct. The indictment says approximately $450,000 was deposited into his personal investment account and $374,752.87 was used to pay down the mortgage on his personal residence.
Groton housing funds are also part of the allegations
The government further alleges that the Groton Housing Authority and Greater Groton Realty Corporation were neither parties nor guarantors of the loan, but Cappelletti nevertheless used his position as the housing authority’s executive director to direct payments toward the debt using housing-authority funds.
Prosecutors say he represented those payments as costs connected to a forthcoming development bond that would be reimbursed and submitted forged invoices to support the payments.
The FBI and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General are investigating the case.
A governance warning for housing organizations
The allegations center on controls that matter throughout public and affordable housing finance: who can authorize borrowing, how resolutions are authenticated, who controls bank accounts and whether invoices correspond to legitimate project obligations.
Wire fraud carries a maximum prison term of 20 years per count, while illegal monetary transactions carry a maximum of 10 years per count. Those are statutory maximums, not a prediction of any eventual sentence.
The case now moves through federal court. No finding of guilt has been made.
