Eight Expected in Court This Week for Thefts Totaling $700k

Eight defendants face arraignment this week for their alleged roles in a nationwide scam that drained hundreds of thousands of dollars from the victims’ home equity lines of credit.

A recent press release said that Ricardo Peterson, 34, of Roxbury, Miguel Balan, 21, of Revere, John Bristow, 41, of Dedham, Molijah Burey, 23, of Dorchester and Troy Fernandez, 25, of Dorchester are expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Suffolk Superior Court on charges of receiving stolen goods over $250, larceny over $250, conspiracy, and money laundering.

Three additional defendants charged in connection are Cheryda Grant, 44, of Hyde Park, David Johnson, 32, of Stoughton, and John Johnson, 35,of Norwood. They face arraignment Thursday on identical charges.

A ninth co-defendant, Daries Hurt, 25, of Jamaica Plain, was arraigned last month on the same charges as well as three unrelated cases charging him with home invasion and drug offenses. Suffolk Superior Court Clerk Magistrate Gary Wilson ordered that he be held on $100,000 bail.

The indictments against each defendant were returned Nov. 6. Each of the defendants is accused of taking part in a widespread conspiracy to steal approximately $700,000 from the home equity line of credit accounts held by five different victims between November 2012 and February 2013.

Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.

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