Braintree Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing $122,000 from State Commission

BRAINTREE, MA - A Braintree man has admitted to stealing over $122,000 from the Finance Division of the Group Insurance Commission.

Ennio Manto, 52, pleaded guilty Monday in Suffolk Superior Court to larceny over $250 and conflict of interest, according to the Attorney General's office. He was sentenced to three years of probation and must pay $122,349.83 in restitution. The Attorney General’s office recommended jail time followed by probation.

“This defendant abused his position at a state agency to steal money that was meant for insurance benefits for those working for municipal and state government,” said Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement. “We will continue to hold those who abuse their positions for their own financial gain accountable. We are pleased that the money will be returned to the state.”

Manto, who was the director of the division, made two wire transfers to a beneficiary, Seaport Equity, a company owned by Manto. An accountant at GIC discovered a wire payment in June 2015 for $72,342.83 that could not be reconciled with the GIC’s statements and internal documents. Manto acknowledged that he made the transfer, claiming it was a payment to a health plan administrator for a nonstandard report. Later, the accountant discovered that the required payment was for a different amount and not due for another year.

The transfers were made between March and June 2015, authorities said.

Upon learning that the wire transfer was being looked into, Manto altered the original printout of the wire transfer by cutting out information related to Seaport Equity and taping in information about the health plan administrator. These documents were later found in a GIC recycling bin. The contract documents that Manto had given to the accountant as backup documentation for the wire transfer had also allegedly been altered.

Authorities said that a further investigation revealed that Manto made an additional unauthorized wire transfer from the GIC’s funds to Seaport Equity in March 2015 for $50,000. The total amount of money allegedly taken by Manto was $122,342.83.

Information in this article is from the Massachusetts Attorney General's office.

Image via Shutterstock

Originally published Dec. 20, 2016