August 11, 2017
Massachusetts

Couple allegedly sought $50 million in energy grants for green facilities they never built

By Alban Murtishi | August 11, 2017 | www.masslive.com

Christopher Condron and Jessica Metivier were to be reimbursed $50 million by the U.S. Treasury Department for the hundreds of millions they spent on green facilities over the span of four years.

The only problem, prosecutors allege, is the duo didn’t plan or build anything.

According to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Boston Thursday, Condron and Metivier, an Acton couple, have been charged with defrauding the U.S. Treasury Department for more than $50 million in tax free energy grants. They also face three counts of wire fraud.

The indictment alleges that Condron and Metivier submitted false applications for grants related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The grants were made to reimburse businesses that invested in “specified energy property,” such as wind farms and gasification systems.

The Acton couple submitted applications on behalf of four different Massachusetts energy companies. For each application, prosecutors allege, Condron and Metivier lied about different their plans to build, acquire or place in to service several different energy properties.

Prosecutors highlighted an $88 million gasification system and an $84 million wind farm the couple claimed to have built in order to receive reimbursement from the Treasury Department. To support their applications, the duo allegedly submitted the fraudulent documentation to a Massachusetts-based lawyer, who sent them to the Treasury Department on their behalf.

Based on these alleged costs, Condron and Metivier asked the government for $50 million to recover some of the costs. Prosecutors say the duo received $8 million in grants.

The couple was released Wednesday after appearing in Boston federal court. It is unclear when they are expected to return.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2017/08/11/couple-allegedly-sought-50-million-in-energy-grants-for-green-facilities-they-never-built/