Former Glastonbury Businessman Gets 13 Months For Bogus Solar Panel Projects

GLASTONBURY, CT - A former resident who is now living in Florida has received a 13-month prison sentence for fraudulently obtaining more than $9 million in economic stimulus program funds in 2010 and 2011.

United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut Deirdre M. Daly, announced the sentencing of Walter Craig Bradway on Monday. He is a former Glastonbury resident now living in Holmes Beach, Fla.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Thompson handed down the sentence in Hartford. The prison term will be followed by three years of supervised release, Daly said. Bradway was also ordered to perform 600 hours of community service, Daly said.

According to court documents and statements made in court, the fraud involved federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act reimbursement for solar energy conversion projects. The Treasury Department typically reimbursed 30 percent of the cost of approved applications, according to court documents, Daly said.

Bradway was the owner and president of Glastonbury-based DataComm Services LLC, according to court documents. In 2010 and 2011, he submitted more than 300 applications for reimbursements for solar panel projects in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Florida, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Maine and California, according to court documents.

Many of the applications were fraudulent, Daly said, because Bradway indicated panels were installed and in service when, in fact, the projects had not been completed or even begun.

Bradway also overstated the size and cost of projects in order to increase the reimbursement amount, Daly said.

Bradway submitted false documentation, including doctored engineering reports and fake interconnection agreements with local utility companies, Daly said.

As a result of "these fraudulent applications," Bradway received approximately $9,026,637 in funds that "he was not entitled to," Daly said.

Bradway voluntary disclosed his criminal conduct to the Treasury Department, Daly said.

Bradway was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $8,935,266.50, Daly said.

On Feb. 1, Bradway entered a guilty plea for one count of wire fraud, Daly said.