Fall River Mayor's 'Lavish Lifestyle' From Fraud: Federal Charges

FALL RIVER, MA — The mayor of Fall River pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of using more than $230,000 from investors in his start-up on what federal prosecutors called his "lavish lifestyle and political campaign."

Jaisel Correia, 26, was arrested earlier in the morning at his Fall River home. In the afternoon, he was in shackles pleading not guilty to nine counts of wire fraud and four counts of tax fraud in a federal courthouse in Boston.

FBI investigators said Correia, a Democrat who in 2015 was the youngest mayor elected in Fall River, used 64 percent of investor money from his start-up app company, SnoOwl, totaling at least $231,447. He then used that money to buy himself a Mercedes, designer clothing, adult entertainment, student loans and dating services, according to an indictment released Thursday morning. He is being accused of not reporting the money to the IRS.

"His actions were underhanded, shameless and greedy," FBI agent Hank Shaw said at a press conference. "Mr. Correia blurred the lines between public business and private duties, using investor funds as his own personal ATM, systemically looting almost a quarter-million dollars."

When asked after his arraignment if he had plans to resign, Correia told reporters, "Absolutely not."

In February, the Herald News reported that Correia has begun setting up a legal defense account. Correia said, SnoOwl was the subject of an informal investigation by the FBI and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The app is meant to connect businesses with local consumers.

"Taxpayers deserve more from their elected officials...," U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said Thursday at a press conference. "This was not about poor accounting or honest mistakes."

Lelling did not rule out the possibility of other charges against Correia.

Fall River is an old mill city about 55 miles south of Boston with roughly 85,000 residents.

Patch will update this story

Photo from Correia's Facebook campaign page

Jimmy Bentley contributed to this story