Christopher N. Condron, $50M Energy Grant Scam, Massachusetts 2024

Convicted: Christopher N. Condron, 49, of Acton, Massachusetts, was found guilty of a scheme to defraud the U.S. Treasury Department of over $50 million in tax-free energy grants as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

A federal jury delivered the guilty verdict after a 13-day trial, in which prosecutors presented evidence that Condron and his partner, Jessica Metivier, submitted fraudulent applications to the Treasury Department on behalf of four different Massachusetts companies.

Between May 2009 and June 2013, the pair submitted applications claiming that Metivier and her entities had acquired, placed into service, or started construction of energy property, including a $88 million bio-fuel gasification system and an $84 million wind farm project.

However, the evidence revealed that Condron vastly overstated property costs in the grant applications, resulting in a loss of over $8.7 million to the government. Additionally, Condron attempted to obtain another $17 million in energy grants.

Metivier, Condron’s partner in crime, was sentenced to one year of probation in February 2021.

Condron faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, for the charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims.

On February 4, 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani is set to schedule sentencing for Condron.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neil J. Gallagher, Jr. and Elysa Q. Wan are prosecuting the case, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston.

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