Ex-Wife Of Man Charged With Running Scheme To Redevelop Beachcomber Arrested

QUINCY, MA — The ex-wife of the man accused of scamming investors who thought they were helping redevelop the Beachcomber on Wollaston Beach has been charged with lying about the location of her former spouse prior to his arrest.

Cecily Sturge, 69, of Delray Beach, Fla., has been charged with making a materially false statement to a federal agent about the location of Scott J. Wolas, who was a fugitive for 20 years in until his arrest in April 2017. Sturge is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida today, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

According to court documents, a federal investigation into Wolas began in early September 2016 when he fled Massachusetts after defrauding at least 19 investors of about $1.5 million in connection with his purported efforts to the former Beachcomber Bar and a nearby property. Authorities say Sturge was interviewed by law enforcement on Nov. 17, 2016, during which time she stated she had not spoken to her ex-husband for about 15 years prior. Sturge maintained her answer, despite evidence of contact between her cell phone and one known to belong to Wolas that demonstrated more recent communication between the two.

After further investigation, Wolas was arrested on April 7, 2017, in a condo he was renting in Delray Beach, Fla. Investigators learned that Wolas had first rented the condo from Nov. 12 through Nov. 21, 2017, through an online rental website in the name of Cecily Sturge. Messages exchanged between the condo owner and Sturge were also discovered, that depicted a photo of Sturge and messages indicating that Wolas, using the name Cameron Sturge, was Sturge’s brother and a retired paleontologist in need of a place to stay. The owner of the condo told authorities that Sturge and Wolas arrived at the condo together in the same car on Nov. 12, five days before Sturge’s interview with law enforcement.

Sturge was divorced from Wolas in 2001 by default judgment in Palm Beach County, Fla. In February 2017, Sturge filed a petition to modify the judgment in order to obtain the contents of Wolas’ retirement account, which had a balance of approximately $647,000, from the New York law firm where he worked prior to being indicted in 1997 by New York authorities. In pleadings filed in February and March 2017 in that matter, Sturge swore that Wolas’s whereabouts were unknown to her, despite telephone records showing frequent contact between the two. In addition, copies or drafts of documents filed in the Florida proceeding were also found in the room and on a thumb drive taken from the room where Wolas was arrested.

Sturge faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.

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