Editor’s note: This story was updated twice, first to correct that the Dogwood Way residence was being used to distribute only mangoes and to include a comment from the homeowner, and a second time to include a comment from the second homeowner insisting she has no involvement with a grocery-related website as she was accused.

Following up on concerns about unpermitted retail food distribution in the Legacy Farms neighborhood, Health Director Shaun McAuliffe sent cease and desist letters to two homeowners last week.

The homes are located on Dogwood Way and Autumn Ridge Drive, in the Legacy Farms South section of the development.

Since the letters were sent on May 30, McAuliffe said both homeowners assured him they have discontinued the behavior. However, both homeowners, in separate email conversations with the Independent, insisted that they were only doing favors for a few fellow residents and were not doing everything of which they were accused.

The home on Dogwood Way was being used by a Connecticut wholesaler who picked up USDA-inspected crates of mangoes from the freight terminal at Logan Airport. On his way back to Connecticut, the wholesaler would stop in Hopkinton and have customers pick them up from the homeowner’s driveway despite not having a permit to do so.

The homeowner, who asked not to be identified, said she was simply doing the wholesaler a favor by allowing him to hand out items he had sold to Hopkinton residents.

“He has a lot of customers in town, so, on his way back to Connecticut, he asked me if he could distribute the boxes from my driveway,” she explained, stating she had no other involvement.

Said McAuliffe: “[The homeowner has] discontinued that and will pay the fine.”

The Autumn Ridge homeowner was accused of storing produce for a Massachusetts-based website called Groceryol.com, which promises quick delivery — although the homeowner adamantly denies this.

“I don’t have any connections or associations with anyone from the online grocery store [referenced],” she stated. “I, in fact, had reported about this website, as some of the people who bought food from them were very upset with the quality and service.”

The homeowner stated that she is a licensed importer for Indian mangoes and other foods in New England, as well as a wholesale supplier to major retail stores in the state, and she had arranged for some mangoes to be delivered to a registered store in Framingham. She explained that a message was sent out on social media mistakenly directing people to pick up the mangoes at her residence (which an anonymous resident forwarded to the Health Department), but it later was corrected to indicate customers should go to the store. She did acknowledge “holding pre-orders for a few residents out of courtesy.”

In the past, the neighborhood has had issues with unlicensed kitchen-based restaurants, but that issue seems to have subsided, McAuliffe noted. Now, it’s more distribution-focused.

“As many as I knock down, others pop up,” McAuliffe said. “Many of these people just don’t realize it’s illegal and that they carry liability. It’s illegal and in violation of their HOA [homeowners association rules].

“All these different people are looking for a way to make a buck,” he added. “A lot of it is well intentioned, but they’re not following the rules. Heaven forbid any of the product is contaminated, because they’re taking all the liability.

“I told them, ‘I’m willing to support you in doing this the right way, but if you get someone sick, they can take your car, your house.’ I’d rather not see anybody suffer because they’re selling products illegally out of their home.”

Homeowners also are subject to fines from the HOA, McAuliffe said. The HOA is run by a management company and has communicated to residents that it will actively pursue any illegal business and will fine residents the maximum amount, he added.