The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts announced this week that a Hopkinton couple who operate a roofing and construction company in Framingham were arrested and charged in connection with separate schemes to defraud their workers’ compensation insurance carriers, the Small Business Administration and their mortgage lender. Included in the accusations, the couple took money received for a pandemic loan for their business and transferred it to their private account, then used it to make a down payment on a home in the Highland Park neighborhood of Hopkinton.
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, the announcement reads. Ronaldo Solano also was charged with one count of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud. They were arrested Wednesday morning and were scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston that afternoon.
According to the indictment, from about 2012 to 2020, the Solanos — who operate 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, in 2021 and/or 2022, the Solanos submitted a loan application on behalf of H&R Roofing & Siding Corp. to the Small Business Administration (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 toward 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.
According to public records, the Solanos purchased a home at 35 Wedgewood Drive in April of 2022 for $1.7 million.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 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. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Wasn’t the lender complicit in their fraud?
How so????
The only real fraud I see here is underreporting her workers and using the money they borrowed to buy a personal property. But as a business like every other business they were entitled to the EIDL due to losses related to Covid
They should nota have used the relief money to buy private property.
You can’t use this money for personal gains you have to use it back into the business that’s what it’s meant for Business expenses
Let’s pay attention but did not disclose to their lender that they were using EIDL funds for the down payment
Such blatant abuse and use of money meant to help ppl… Not fund a ridiculous lifestyle. Cannot have sympathy for them at all. They deserve whatever they get.
These people area plague on society and just out for easy money with little to no work and only getting worse with current immigrant problem trust that!
A Lot of people did the same regardless of origin. Keep your buas to yourself
Good to hear this story today. Glad they were caught.
“These people” ~ who are you referring to? People that live in Hopkinton? Business owners? People who work in roofing? Heterosexual couples? People who have more money than you? And what in the world does this have to do with the “current immigration problem “. All Americans need to live within the law & it sounds as though they will be punished because they didn’t, but your hate and being worse is leaking out all over the place. Not cool at all or warranted.
These are hard working people, the news always makes things sound way worse than they are. I’m sure these business owners are harder working than you since you have the time to comment hate on these articles !!! You sound like a trump supporter . Trump scams, lies, and is incredibly fraudulent. Hypocrite
I lost my trust in our constitution cause that and trump.
Dumbass
Finally , this people when they first migrated to us were stealing money from ther jobs , they do lots of ilegal stuff and I’m glad they finally got arrested it’s time they go away for good !!
Not only immigrants had abused this system and there are no complains.
As if Americans were ALL Saints…keep your Bias to yourself
I’m missing something, I guess, as I see nothing in the article about immigrants.
But, yeah. Guess if you are not First Nation, that just leaves all of us here being immigrants and open to being dirtbags.
You sound disgusting.
The only American people that are on roofs are drug addicts. You guys don’t want to do the jobs immigrants do. Shove your opinion up where the sun doesn’t shine. Nonetheless, didn’t see anything on this article about them being immigrants? Because one doesn’t have anything to do with the other. Go look at all the corrupt politicians indictments and tax records. your precious trump ( which I’m sure you support) is deff #1 on that list.
Now I know how people afford houses in Hopkinton.
Are they Brazilian or Hispanic?
The govt should never have given the money
Just think of the waste of the whole program
Once the money is in the business, you going to track every dollar spent and say what bucket it came out of ?