BOSTON, MA – A Reading man’s scheme to defraud an elderly relative of her interest in a three-family home and a separate scheme to defraud the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance has come to an end. Giorgio ‘George’ Fiorenza, 51, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston today in connection with these schemes.
Fiorenza was charged in August 2020 with two counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for April 7, 2022.
Between August and September 2017, Fiorenza defrauded an elderly relative into unknowingly signing a deed conveying her interest in a property she owned with Fiorenza’s spouse and forged the victim’s name on another document necessary to convey title to the property, both of which were recorded in the Middlesex Registry of Deeds. Fiorenza then took out a $750,000 loan in his spouse’s name and secured by the property, and subsequently caused the lender to foreclose on the property.
Between April and June 2020, Fiorenza filed claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) in the names of third parties and fraudulently diverted some of the funds for his own use. PUA was a temporary federal unemployment insurance program created when Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) in March 2020 in response to the global coronavirus pandemic.
The charge of wire fraud provides a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides a mandatory sentence of two years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.
Fiorenza’s guilty plea marks the end of a lengthy investigation into his activities. Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell, Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division and Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations made the announcement.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Mandatory Facts:
- Defendant: Giorgio ‘George’ Fiorenza
- Criminal Charges: Two counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft
- City and State: Reading, Massachusetts
- Date: August 2020 (charged), April 7, 2022 (sentencing)
- Sentence: Up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater
- Dollar Amounts: $750,000
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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