Greenwich PD Probe Leads To Prison Sentence In Federal Scam Case

GREENWICH, CT — A 2018 fraud investigation by members of the Greenwich Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has resulted in a 43-year-old attorney and court-appointed conservator being sentenced to prison, announced United States Attorney John H. Durham.

The defendant, Jodi Zils Gagne, of Bristol, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 46 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for stealing more than $169,000 from individuals for whom she served as a conservator. She has been suspended from practicing law.

According to prosecutors and court documents and statements, Zils Gagne was a court-appointed conservator for several individuals in Connecticut. A conservator is described by prosecutors as "a person appointed by the probate court to oversee the financial or personal affairs of an adult who is incapable of managing his or her finances or unable to care for himself or herself."

Beginning in approximately May 2015, Zils Gagne defrauded several conserved individuals by misappropriating their money and overbilling them. She pleaded guilty in October 2018 to one count of mail fraud and is out on $50,000 bond until she has to report to prison in July.

"The money that Zils Gagne misappropriated was intended for the conserved persons' medical care, housing, bills, personal expenses, and legitimate conservator fees," according to Durham. "Zils Gagne also misrepresented, or failed to disclose, material facts about her conservatorship activities to the Bristol probate court and others."

From Durham's announcement:

Through this scheme, Zils Gagne defrauded six victims of a total of $169,402.74. She defrauded one elderly victim of approximately $136,000, and appropriated $113,000 of that money under the guise of an "investment" when, in fact, it was a 10-year note that paid only a prime rate and was signed between her (as the victim’s conservator) and Zils Gagne’s husband. The money was used to fund her husband's start-up company, a Bristol-based internet radio station. The terms and details of this transaction were only disclosed after extended proceedings in the probate court, during which Zils Gagne repeatedly lied, sometimes under oath, to the probate court.

The investigation also revealed that Zils Gagne arranged the sale of two victims' houses to her relative for less than the appraised value of the homes. The buyer than renovated the homes, sold them for a substantial profit, and paid Zils Gagne and her husband kickbacks.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Greenwich Police Department, with the assistance of the Connecticut Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel and the New Britain State’s Attorney’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang.