Massachusetts Luxury Homebuilder Kent Pecoy Sentenced for Fraud Conspiracy

BOSTON – In a shocking turn of events, Kent Pecoy, 66, a former luxury homebuilder from West Springfield, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to defraud the United States and creating false documents to help one of his clients obtain a mortgage.

Pecoy, who owned and operated Kent Pecoy & Sons, Construction Inc. (KPSC), Sturbridge Development, LLC (Sturbridge), and Legacy General Contractors, LLC (Legacy), was charged with two counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution.

According to the Department of Justice, Pecoy conspired with others to conceal income from the IRS by dealing in cash. Specifically, he received $1,116,900 in cash payments from his client, Kevin M. Kennedy, for the purchase and construction of custom-built homes in East Longmeadow and on Cape Cod.

Pecoy failed to deposit most of the cash into business bank accounts, instead distributing it directly to vendors and subcontractors. He also created and maintained separate ledgers documenting Kennedy’s cash payments, created and maintained false contracts and cover sheets, and created false entries in KPSC’s accounting system to conceal the cash payments.

In January 2010, Pecoy and Kennedy made false statements to Charles Schwab Bank on a loan to Kennedy and his wife for the construction of a residence in East Longmeadow, attempting to conceal a $160,000 cash down payment. The false statements included understating the sale price of the residence lot, the price of the construction, and the deposit and earnest money paid by Kennedy.

Pecoy’s sentencing is set for August 20, 2024. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $1 million for making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution. The conspiracy charges carry a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes governing the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven H. Breslow and Neil L. Desroches of the Springfield Branch Office are prosecuting the case, along with Trial Attorney Eric B. Powers of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.