A federal judge sentenced a Kingston man to six years behind bars for his involvement in several fraud schemes tied to sober homes, the Mass Save Program, and COVID-19 business loans.

Daniel Cleggett, 39, will have three years of supervised release following his sentence, according to a statement from Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office. The court also mandated that Cleggett pay almost $1.9 million in restitution and forfeit about $1.5 million.

Cleggett pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, one court of mortgage fraud conspiracy, 24 counts of wire fraud, six counts of money laundering, and three counts of making false statements to a mortgage lending business in Dec. 2024.

The convicted fraudster was originally arrested and charged in March 2023.

Cleggett was the owner of a sober home business that operated in Boston, Wakefield, Quincy, and Weymouth. He also operated several insulation contracting companies.

According to the U.S. Attorney, Cleggett conspired with a co-defendant Nicholas Espinosa and a Weymouth sober home resident to overcharge the family trust paying for the resident’s room and board. He also made three “straw purchases” of homes, claiming they would become single family homes, but in reality they were to become sober houses.

In addition to the fraud committed through the sober houses, Cleggett, through his insulation businesses, received millions of dollars from the Mass Save Program (a public/private partnership that funds energy efficient projects).

From 2018 to 2021, his companies also fraudulently billed vendors for permits he never applied for, the statement from the U.S. Attorney said. After the companies were banned from participating in the Mass Save Program, Cleggett and his coconspirators formed other companies to obtain further funding.

Related Articles

Massachusetts resident on Tinder swindled out of $500,000 in fraud scheme: Feds

Former BPD super says he was demoted for investigating alleged detail fraud

Minnesota childcare fraud allegations spark audit request in Massachusetts: ‘Serious risks’

Boston fashionista Suhail Kwatra, busted in $400,000 alleged fraud scheme, sues Saks

Massachusetts native on the national frontline of targeting SNAP fraud

Cleggett also applied for Economic Injury Disaster loans during the pandemic for the sober home and insulation businesses, as well as a third company called Daniel Cleggett Sole Proprietorship, obtaining almost $800,000 in the process. He falsely claimed he was not committing crimes at the time, the U.S. The Attorney’s Office said, and lied that the proprietorship existed when it did not.

He used the funds to pay for personal expenses, including EZ-Pass bills, a gym membership, plane tickets, car rentals, vacations, and wedding costs.

Cleggett’s co-conspirator Espinosa pleaded guilty to his role in the crimes in October 2024 and is expected to be sentenced on Jan. 22.