Monique N. Brady, $10M Ponzi Scheme, Rhode Island 2018

Monique N. Brady, a 44-year-old former East Greenwich businesswoman, has admitted to operating a $10.3 million Ponzi scheme through her company, MNB. The scheme involved deceiving investors about the scope of rehabilitation projects for foreclosed properties in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

According to the indictment, Brady misrepresented the contracts secured by her company, MNB, and claimed that payments ranging from $20,000 to $80,000 were needed to pay subcontractors for large-scale rehabilitation projects. However, the records reveal that MNB was hired for menial tasks such as mowing grass, changing locks, and snow removal, with most projects valued at less than $1,000.

Brady solicited and received multiple investments for the same property and provided fraudulent emails to make potential investors believe she had secured contracts for large-scale rehabilitation projects. She included itemizations of work to be performed and the identity of an actual employee of a national property rehabilitation company in an attempt to make the emails appear authentic.

Among those defrauded were close friends in the East Greenwich community, a close friend from childhood, a close friend from law school, her step-brother, and an older woman who was essentially a nanny to her children. Other victims included three Warwick firefighters and an elderly man with Alzheimer’s disease.

Brady admitted to attempting to obstruct an IRS investigation when she asked investors to delete or destroy all email correspondence, texts, and documents relating to their investments in MNB rehabilitation projects.

Monique N. Brady pleaded guilty to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and obstructing an IRS investigation. She remains detained in federal custody and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 4, 2019. Wire fraud is punishable by statutory penalties of up to 20 years in prison, up to five years supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross profit/loss. Obstructing an IRS investigation is punishable by statutory penalties of up to three years in prison, one year supervised release, and a fine of $5,000. Aggravated identity theft is punishable by a two-year mandatory sentence consecutive to any other sentence imposed in this matter and one year supervised release.

Monique N. Brady, a resident of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, was charged with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and obstructing an IRS investigation. The exact date of the crime is not specified in the source.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/property-preservationist-pleads-guilty-10-million-dollar-fraud-scheme