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Kingston sober home owner faces 43 counts for several fraud schemes after years of suspicion
Authorities and journalists have suspected Daniel Cleggett Jr. of conducting illegal and unethical activity for years. Now he's facing charges.
The Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s office charged a Kingston sober home owner with 43 counts of wire fraud, mortgage fraud, money laundering, and other charges related to several different schemes Tuesday.
In a massive indictment, the U.S. Attorney’s office said 37-year-old Daniel Cleggett Jr. allegedly ran schemes that involved both his sober homes and insulation companies, the Mass Save program, and COVID-19 business relief loans.
The U.S. Attorney’s office also charged his associate, 37-year-old Randolph resident Nicholas Espinosa, with 37 counts related to these schemes.
People have suspected Cleggett and his businesses of conducting illegal and unethical activity for years. The Boston Globe previously published two investigations into his sober homes.
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Despite this, the Globe reported, Cleggett continued to open more businesses and lead a lavish lifestyle.
Cleggett’s attorney did not respond to the Globe’s requests for comment, and Espinosa’s declined to comment.
Sober home and mortgage schemes
Two of Cleggett’s schemes involved his sober home business called A Vision From God. The business owns and operates sober homes in Weymouth and Dorchester under the name Brady’s Place, as well as Lakeshore Retreat in Wakefield and others, the release said. Espinosa managed the sober homes.
Cleggett, Espinosa, and a sober home client allegedly defrauded a New York-based family trust that was paying for the client’s room and board at a Brady’s Place location, the release said. They allegedly did this by overcharging the trust by up to $12,500 per month through false invoices and then issuing “refund” checks to the client.
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Additionally, the release said, between October 2019 and December 2021, Cleggett bought residential properties in Boston and Weymouth using false information. Cleggett, as well as straw buyers including Espinosa, falsely claimed that the homes were going to be used as primary residences when they intended to use them as sober homes.
Insulation companies and Mass Save schemes
Another of Cleggett’s alleged schemes involved several insulation companies he owned and nearly one million dollars he garnered through the Mass Save program. Mass Save uses funds from Massachusetts residents’ utility bills to pay for energy conservation projects and improvements.
Between 2018 and 2021, two of his insulation companies, Green Save Energy Corporation and Environmental Construction Objective Inc. (ECO) allegedly billed a Mass Save vendor company for required permits that were not actually obtained, the release said.
In June 2021, the vendor company banned Green Save Energy and ECO from participating in their program, and Cleggett was banned from participating in Mass Save altogether, the release said.
In response, the release said, Cleggett, Espinosa, and other co-conspirators allegedly used shell companies to keep participating in Mass Save, and managed to net nearly $1 million this way.
COVID-19 business relief loan schemes fund a lavish lifestyle
The U.S. Attorney’s office also charged Cleggett for allegedly lying on Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications he submitted in 2020 on behalf of A Voice From God, Green Save Energy, and the Daniel Cleggett Sole Proprietorship.
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In the applications for A Voice From God and Green Save Energy, Cleggett allegedly falsely claimed he wasn’t involved in illegal activity despite his alleged sober home fraud schemes, the release said.
The U.S. Attorney’s office claims the entire application for Daniel Cleggett Sole Proprietorship was allegedly false because the company didn’t exist.
Additionally, the release said, Cleggett allegedly used tens of thousands of dollars from the loans to pay for personal expenses despite agreeing to use the nearly $800,000 he was granted only for expenses for the intended businesses.
Cleggett allegedly used the loans to pay for EZ-Pass bills, gym memberships, pet care, airline tickets, car rentals, and vacations to Yellowstone National Park and Aruba, the release said.
Cleggett also allegedly used money from the loans to stay at resorts and enjoy caviar dinners and spa treatments with his girlfriend. The release said he allegedly spent another $38,000 in loan money on wedding expenses.
The charges against Cleggett and Espinosa
The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged both Cleggett and Espinosa with two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of conspiracy to make false statements to a mortgage lending business, 21 counts of wire fraud, six counts of unlawful monetary transactions, and one count of making false statements to a mortgage lending business.
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It separately charged Cleggett with four counts of wire fraud and two counts of making false statements to a mortgage lending business.
Cleggett and Espinosa were arrested Tuesday morning and released after being arraigned in a federal court in Boston, the release said. They both could face decades in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for each charge.
Cleggett has been under suspicion for years
In 2017, The Boston Globe and STAT wrote that Cleggett was allegedly engaging in a practice called “brokering” through his sober homes.
More local crime news
In Cleggett’s case, he reportedly enlisted Bay Staters suffering from drug addictions to go to dubious recovery centers in South Florida. Two men whose move Cleggett allegedly “brokered” died of drug overdoses soon after, but Cleggett denied involvement.
The story prompted the Massachusetts attorney general’s office to investigate sober home schemes and take a closer look at how addiction treatment centers in the state were operating. In 2021, the AG’s office indicted two people as a result of the investigation, including Cleggett associate Michael Hislop.
But Cleggett seemed to escape unscathed, even after the bones of a missing client from one of his sober homes was found in the backyard of one of the homes.
The Globe published an investigation into Cleggett’s homes after this incident. While Cleggett declined to comment on the story, Espinosa claimed the pair had the best intentions. “We are really about helping people,” he said.
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