Barrington Man Pleads To $200k Newport Construction Fraud

NEWPORT, RI — A Barrington man pleaded guilty to 14 fraud-related charges in Providence federal court on Thursday. Gregory Meeker, 57, admitted to stealing more than $200,000 using his Newport-based real estate development company.

According to Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Aaron Weisman's office, Meeker was the overseer of several projects through Landings Real Estate Group, including at the Newport Beach Club and Long Meadow Landings. In court, Meeker admitted that the scheme started in December 2015, just two months after he was hired, submitting fake or falsely inflated invoices in the name of subcontractors. The company then wrote checks for the invoices, which Meeker pocketed, fraudulently signed and deposited in his own bank account.

Meeker also said that he sent the company fake paperwork fro GMC Construction, a company he ran in the past, which included a fake name, address and a social security number. Landigs then sent GMC more than $12,000 in checks, which Meeker also kept for himself.

In addition to the construction invoices, Meeker admitted to faking the endorsement of the Town of Portsmouth's Inspection Department on three checks, depositing them into one of the four accounts he used during the scheme.

On Thursday, Meeker pleaded guilty to 12 counts of bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft and is scheduled to be arraigned on April 7. Bank fraud carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison with five years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. The identity theft charge is punishable by up to two years in prison.