News Release
U.S. Department of Justice
Peter F. Neronha
United States Attorney
District of Rhode Island
November 29, 2012
Former Community Action Program Senior Auditor Sentenced for Accepting Kickbacks
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Saul Lemoi, 38, of West Warwick, R.I., a former senior energy auditor with the Comprehensive Community Action Program (CCAP) in Cranston, R.I., was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. to two years of probation, the first year to be served in home confinement, and 400 hours of community service for accepting kickbacks of federal weatherization funds earmarked to make the homes of eligible low-income families more energy efficient and for lying to a federal agent, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha.
Lemoi pleaded guilty on June 6, 2012, to one count of bribery and one count of making a false statement.
At the time of his guilty plea, Lemoi admitted to the court that from June 2006 through October 2007, in his capacity as senior auditor with CCAP, he sought and received authorization from an agency director to assign 41 federally funded weatherization projects totaling $75,002.45 to Weathertight Solution, LLC. Lemoi failed to disclose to the director that he held an interest in Weathertight Solutions and that he stood to benefit financially from funds paid to the company. More than $32,000 of the federally funded payments paid to Weathertight Solutions by CCAP was provided to Lemoi.
Lemoi admitted to the court that in many instances, he knowingly prepared invoices that did not accurately reflect the work that Weathertight Solutions had done on clients’ homes. Many of the invoices submitted billed for work that was not performed. On 33 occasions Lemoi conducted the post-work inspections on homes that Weathertight Solutions had worked on, verifying that Weathertight Solutions had completed the weatherization work in accordance with the invoices submitted. In many instances, the defendant’s representations were false and the work had not been completed. Several of the clients’ homes were never visited in order to determine if the work had been completed, although Lemoi indicated he had inspected the homes on the post-work inspection forms.
Lemoi also admitted to making false statements to federal investigators during a meeting on March 15, 2012, in the Office of the United States Attorney.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dulce Donovan.
The matter was investigated by agents from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.
This law enforcement action is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud.
Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
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Contact: 401-709-5357
USARI.Media@usdoj.gov
