WORCESTER – A real estate developer has been sentenced to more than three years in prison after pleading guilty to a $2.3 million fraud scheme involving the redevelopment of a multi-family home in Worcester.
James E. Levin, 62, formerly of Natick and now living on Nantucket, was sentenced to 37 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture to be determined at a later date.
Last September, Levin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and false claims.
From July 2010 to September 2011, Levin served as the manager of 5 May Street Apartments, LLC and applied for and obtained federal funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD] to rehabilitate the multi-unit apartment building at 5 May Street in Worcester.
The HUD funding was distributed through the City of Worcester and Levin submitted seven payment requests to the City for work he claimed he completed on the building and associated costs. Levin didn’t complete the work he claimed in the payment requests, yet still received more than $2.3 million for the project. The City of Worcester was required to pay the money back to the government.
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