Former CCAP Auditor Pleads Guilty to Kickback Scheme Charges

A former senior energy auditor who used to work for the  in Cranston pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to charges of bribery and lying to federal agents relating to a kickback scheme he used to funnel stimulus money into a company in which he had a financial stake.

The federal stimulus weatherization funds were earmarked to improve the energy efficiency of homes belonging to low-income families. Saul Lemoi, 37, set up a company and used his position at CCAP to direct money to the company.

Lemoi admitted in court that he got authorization from the CCAP director to assign 41 weatherization projects totaling $75,002.45 to Weathertight Solution, LLC, a company he is listed as a manager and was founded after he convinced another individual to create a company, telling him that as an auditor for CCAP, he could divert jobs to the company they created.

According to a release, Lemoi admitted to the court that in many instances, he knowingly prepared invoices that did not accurately reflect the work that Weathertight Solutions had done on clients’ homes. Many of the invoices submitted billed for work that was not performed. On 33 occasions Lemoi conducted the post-work inspections on homes that Weathertight Solutions had worked on, verifying that Weathertight Solutions had completed the weatherization work in accordance with the invoices submitted. In many instances, the defendant’s representations were false and the work had not been completed. Several of the clients’ homes were never visited in order to determine if the work had been completed, although Lemoi indicated he had inspected the homes on the post-work inspection forms.  

Lemoi also admitted to making false statements to federal investigators during a meeting this past March, in the Office of the United States Attorney. At the meeting, Lemoi was asked if in late 2005 and early 2006, prior to his arrangement with Weathertight Solutions, he had engaged in similar conduct, whereby he secretly performed weatherization work for CCAP under the name of another company. Lemoi denied his involvement, when in fact he arranged for the submission of invoices under the name of a company whose owner, the same person who registered Weathertight Solutions as a business with the State of Rhode Island, funneled payments received from CCAP to Lemoi.

Lemoi faces up to 15 years imprisonment, a fine of $500,000, and a term of three years supervised release when he is sentenced on August 23, 2012, by U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr.

Lemoi’s guilty plea to one count of bribery and one count of making false statements was announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha.

“Federal stimulus funds are intended do just that: stimulate the nation’s economy by funding worthwhile projects that serve the overall public interest.  The defendant here acted in his own interest, lining his pockets with federal funds," said United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha. "Let there be no mistake: the Department of Justice and all federal law enforcement agencies have adopted a zero tolerance policy on fraud involving federal stimulus money, and we will aggressively investigate and prosecute all cases involving the theft or wrongful diversion of such funds.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dulce Donovan.

The matter was investigated by agents from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

This law enforcement action is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The President established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.  As part of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force - the Recovery Act, Procurement, and Grant Fraud Working Group focuses on fraud related to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds and other procurement and grant fraud.

The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources.  The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.