Crime & Safety
Sutcivni Gets 40 Months In Worcester Housing Fraud Case
Former Worcester city official Jacklyn Sutcivni helped funnel federal grant funds to a Natick developer, prosecutors said.
WORCESTER, MA — A federal judge sentenced a former Worcester housing official to more than three years in federal prison on Monday, the likely conclusion of a $2.3 million fraud exposed in 2016.
Jacklyn Sutcivni will serve 40 months in prison for her role in a fraud that diverted federal grant dollars to Natick developer James Levin, who was in charge of a project to renovate a building at 5 May St. Sutcivni was convicted in August on conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the federal government and false claims charges.
“Jacklyn Sutcivni repeatedly chose to dishonor her public office and the good people of Worcester who placed their trust in her," United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins said in a news release. "[This] sentence reinforces our steady resolve to investigate public officials who abuse their positions and hold them accountable for breaching the public’s trust.”
RELATED: Natick Lawyer Pleads Guilty In Worcester Development Fraud
Sutcivni, who worked in the city's housing development office, signed off on payment requests from Levin for work that never happened at 5 May St. The project was being paid for through U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development grants.
Levin was sentenced in March 2021 to 37 months in prison, plus forfeiture of nearly $2 million.
Sutcivni will also serve three years of supervised release at the end of her prison term. She'll appear at a hearing in May to determine how much she'll have to pay in restitution to the government.
