BOSTON — The former executive director of Casa Nueva Vida (CNV), a publicly-funded nonprofit homeless shelter with locations in Boston and Lawrence, will pay $6 million to settle allegations he abused his position to improperly funnel state money to himself, all while falsely certifying compliance with state regulations designed to detect such improper self-dealing, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.
The consent judgment, filed and entered in Suffolk Superior Court on Wednesday, resolves a civil lawsuit filed by the AG’s Office – less than four months ago – in September against Manuel Duran, the former Executive Director, Chief Executive Officer, President and Board Member of CNV. The lawsuit alleged Duran violated the Massachusetts False Claims Act by making false statements and material omissions on documents submitted to the state in which he failed to disclose his related party transactions. According to the AG’s Office, Duran signed leases on CNV’s behalf for investment properties he owned, charged CNV substantially above fair rental value, and directed CNV to utilize funding it received from the state to pay for improvements to properties he owned.
“Manuel Duran abused his position of trust to pad his pockets with millions of dollars that should have gone to families in need,” AG Healey said. “Our office moved quickly to reach today’s settlement which holds him accountable for the harm done and returns nearly three times amount of money he stole from the...
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