Massachusetts mayor, 26, is arrested and charged with defrauding investors of $230,000 to pay for casinos, luxury hotels and 'adult entertainment'
- Fall River Mayor Jasiel Corriea, 26, was arrested at his home early on Thursday
- Democrat Corriea was the youngest mayor in Falls River history when elected
- Federal prosecutors say he scammed investors to fund his 'lavish lifestyle'
- They allege he spent funds on luxury hotels, casinos, and 'adult entertainment'
- Corriea also allegedly funneled investor cash to pay for political campaigns
- Fall River is a city of about 87,000 residents in southeastern Massachusetts
The mayor of a Massachusetts city has been arrested and charged with defrauding investors of more than $230,000 and 'using funds to pay for lavish lifestyle and political campaign', officials said.
Fall River Mayor Jasiel Corriea, 26, was arrested by federal agents at 6.30am on Thursday and is charged with wire fraud and filing false tax returns in a 13-count indictment.
Corriea founded SnoOwl, an app to help businesses target consumers, in 2012, and began seeking investors the following year, according to the indictment.
Beginning around January 2013, according to the indictment, Correia 'perpetrated a scheme to defraud the SnoOwl investors by making false representations and diverting a significant portion of the investors' funds to himself.'
Fall River Mayor Jasiel Corriea, 26, (seen in 2016) was arrested by federal agents at his home early on Thursday morning and is charged with wire fraud and filing false tax returns
Prosecutors say Correia (above wearing $600 Italian loafers with former Miss Rhode Island) spent investor funds to pay for luxury hotels, dating services and 'adult entertainment'
The investors included family friends and community members such as orthodontist David Cabeceiras, who revealed to the Herald News last year that he had invested $80,750 in SnoOwl.
The investor's cash was used to 'fund his own lavish lifestyle, burgeoning political career, and the needs of his other business ventures,' according to a copy of the indictment obtained by DailyMail.com.
Prosecutors allege that from 2013-2015, Correia stole at least $231,447 from seven investors in SnoOwl.
The mayor 'concealed his ill-gotten gains from the IRS,' according to the indictment.
In a televised press conference on Thursday, U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said that Correia used the investor funds to pay for airfare, luxury hotels, dating services, casinos and 'adult entertainment'.
Some of the money also went to pay for a Mercedes C300 AWD Sport Sedan, jewelry for an ex-girlfriend and designer men and women's clothing, officials said.
Correia is seen with Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Democrat from Massachusetts. He was arrested and charged with fraud and tax evasion on Thursday
About $10,000 of the investor funds went to pay off Correia's student loans and fund his political campaigns, officials said.
Correia even allegedly used some of the investor cash to make charitable contributions in his own name, the prosecutor said.
Lelling insisted that the alleged financial malfeasance was intentional. 'This was not about poor accounting or honest mistakes,' Lelling said.
'His actions were underhanded, shameless and greedy,' FBI Special Agent in Charge Hank Shaw said at the briefing. 'On top of cheating his investors, we allege he cheated taxpayers by filing false tax returns.'
Special agents with the FBI, IRS and Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General participated in the arrest, and Correia was taken into custody without incident.
Correia, a Democrat, was the youngest mayor in the city's history when he was elected in 2015. He is also the first of Cape Verdean descent, and is seen above in Ferragamo loafers
Fall River is a working-class city of about 87,000 residents in southeastern Massachusetts, some 55 miles from Boston.
Correia, a Democrat, was the youngest mayor in the city's history when he was elected in 2015. He is also the first of Cape Verdean descent.
The two-term mayor easily won reelection last November.
His online biography says he attended Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island, and in 2014 was named entrepreneur of the year by the Fall River Area Chamber of Commerce.
The biography calls Correia: 'A classic example of a Fall River kid made good.'
Most watched News videos
- Gideon Falter on Met Police chief: 'I think he needs to resign'
- Staff confused as lights randomly go off in the Lords
- Shocking moment passengers throw punches in Turkey airplane brawl
- Shocking moment balaclava clad thief snatches phone in London
- Moment fire breaks out 'on Russian warship in Crimea'
- Russian soldiers catch 'Ukrainian spy' on motorbike near airbase
- Shocking moment man hurls racist abuse at group of women in Romford
- China hit by floods after violent storms battered the country
- Shocking footage shows men brawling with machetes on London road
- Machete wielding thug brazenly cycles outside London DLR station
- Trump lawyer Alina Habba goes off over $175m fraud bond
- Mother attempts to pay with savings account card which got declined