FRAMINGHAM, MA — A couple who owns a Framingham roofing company have been arrested and charged in connection with separate schemes to defraud their workers’ compensation insurance carriers, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and their mortgage lender, the Department of Justice announced.
Ronaldo Solano, 51, and Adriana Solano, 40, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston with one count each of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud. Ronaldo was also charged with one count of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud.
According to the indictment, between in or about 2012 and in or about 2020, Ronaldo and Adriana Solano — who operate a roofing and construction company based in Framingham under the names H&R Roofing & Construction Inc. and H&R Roofing & Siding Corp. — avoided more than $627,000 in workers’ compensation insurance premiums by underreporting their payroll and paying workers through a shell company.
Separately, it is alleged that, between in or about 2021 and in or about 2022, Ronaldo and Adriana Solano submitted a loan application on behalf of H&R Roofing & Siding Corp. to the SBA under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program, which provided for pandemic relief under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
In the application, Ronaldo and Adriana Solano allegedly requested $2 million in relief funds for working capital and other eligible business expenses. After receiving the relief funds, it is alleged that Ronaldo and Adriana transferred $1 million of the funds to a personal bank account they shared, from which they allegedly used more than $825,000 for a down payment towards a home in Hopkinton.
It is alleged that Ronaldo and Adriana Solano borrowed another $770,500 from a mortgage lender to fund the purchase of the Hopkinton home but did not disclose to their lender that they were using EIDL funds for the down payment.
The charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud provides for a sentence of no more than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.
The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud provides for a sentence of no more than 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.
The charges of mail fraud and wire fraud provide for a sentence of no more than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.
patch.com
https://patch.com/massachusetts/framingham/framingham-roofing-company-owners-charged-multiple-fraud-schemes
