Daniel Monteiro, Campaign Finance and Mortgage Fraud, Connecticut 2013

Wolcott Man Sentenced for Campaign Finance and Mortgage Fraud

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DANIEL MONTEIRO, 36, of Wolcott, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 13 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for participating in two separate criminal conspiracies.

On March 20, 2013, MONTEIRO pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to make false statements to the FEC and to impede the FEC’s enforcement of federal campaign finance laws. In pleading guilty to this charge, MONTEIRO admitted that he participated in a scheme to conceal from the public the true origin of contributions that Roll-Your-Own (“RYO”) smoke shop owners were making to the Chris Donovan for Congress campaign during the 2012 election cycle.

During the campaign, MONTEIRO agreed to serve as a conduit for a $2,500 campaign contribution by writing a check in that amount to the campaign and then accepting $2,500 in cash in return. MONTEIRO knew that the purpose of the contributions was to obtain a commitment from Chris Donovan, who at the time was also the Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives, to defeat legislation that would strip RYO cigarettes of their tax exempt status.

On May 21, 2013, MONTEIRO pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. In pleading guilty to this charge, MONTEIRO admitted that from May to September 2007, he helped recruit two straw borrowers to purchase a total of five houses from co-defendant Filippos Milios, the head of an extensive mortgage fraud conspiracy.

MONTEIRO was ordered to forfeit $15,000 and pay restitution in the amount of $783,000. The conduit campaign contribution conspiracy was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher M. Mattei. The mortgage fraud conspiracy was investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David T. Huang and William J. Nardini.

MONTEIRO was sentenced on [no specific date mentioned] in Hartford, Connecticut. DANIEL MONTEIRO's case number is [missing].

The sentences handed down by Judge Alvin W. Thompson reflect the severity of the crimes committed by Daniel Monteiro.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ct/pr/wolcott-man-sentenced-prison-participating-two-criminal-schemes