Lawsuit names Boston, MBTA employees in ‘wild case’ where kin allegedly swindled Dorchester man out of $1M home

Two public officials employed by the City of Boston and MBTA are accused in a lawsuit of swindling their elderly and dementia-ridden uncle out of his $1.1 million Dorchester home, by having him sign over the deed for $100 under false pretenses.

The complaint filed in Suffolk Superior Court alleges that Marie Theodat, human resources director for the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, “fraudulently induced” the plaintiff, 88-year-old Rodolphe St. Cloud, to sign over the deed to his longtime home, under the “guise” that he was signing documents related to his medical care.

The property was conveyed for “less than $100” to 144 Fuller LLC, an entity named after the address of the home and managed, per the lawsuit, by Theodat; her sister, Danny Levy Theodat, chief customer and employee experience officer for the MBTA; Levy’s husband, Wayne Levy, who is listed as chief of staff at the quasi-public agency, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center; and another relative, Harcher Batrival.

“At the time of the signing, Rodolphe St. Cloud was told, and believed, that he was signing a document related to his medical care from Mass Health,” his attorney, Ricardo Arroyo, a former Boston city councilor, wrote in the Aug. 20 lawsuit, which notes that St. Cloud was listed as the record owner of the home since March of 1989 and is now facing eviction proceedings in Massachusetts Land Court.

“Rodolphe St. Cloud does not read or speak English and as such relied on Marie A. Theodat to translate and interpret for him,” Arroyo wrote. “Mr. St. Cloud was also afflicted with dementia at the time of the signing and did not have the mental capacity to understand or execute a transfer.”

The lawsuit outlines a series of events where all relatives listed in the suit benefited from the “fraudulent scheme,” which deprived St. Cloud and his 89-year-old life partner, Marthe Jeudi, who has “advanced mental deficiency due to Alzheimer’s” and resides in an assisted care facility, of “record ownership of the property” and divested them of “hundreds of thousands of dollars in equity.”

The lawsuit states that the offices of the Suffolk County District Attorney and Massachusetts Attorney General are investigating “these criminal acts,” while describing the defendants’ actions as preying on St. Cloud and Jeudi because they were “elderly, mentally deficient, and vulnerable to their influence.”

A spokesperson for the AG’s office said it would not confirm, deny nor comment on the existence of an investigation, while the Suffolk DA’s office said that it doesn’t handle civil cases and declined to comment on the accuracy or inaccuracy of a “third-party statement.”

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office, the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, MBTA, and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center all declined to comment on the matter.

The mayor’s office deferred comment to the Boston Water and Sewer Commission.

“BWSC is aware of the allegations made in the complaint,” Dolores Randolph, a spokesperson for the Commission, said in a statement. “This is a personal civil matter to be decided before the court and BWSC has no comment at this time.”

Marie Theodat’s annual salary at the Boston Water and Sewer Commission is roughly $189,958, per a BWSC spokesperson. Danny Levy Theodat is paid an annual salary of $247,000 at the MBTA and Wayne Levy’s annual rate at the Life Sciences Center is listed at $181,896, per state payroll records.

“I’m just hearing it now, and I unfortunately cannot comment,” Marie Theodat told the Herald Monday night. “I am being represented by counsel to this fraudulent complaint.”

A Herald request to speak with Theodat’s attorney was not responded to.

The lawsuit also alleges that Theodat, who is listed in property and phone records as living in Milton, was misrepresenting her address as being in Hyde Park to “circumvent” the city’s residency requirement.

A phone call and text message left for Danny and Wayne Levy on a phone number listed for Wayne Levy was not returned on Tuesday.

The lawsuit states that St. Cloud, who speaks Haitian Creole, has “advanced mental deficiency due to dementia and Alzheimer’s,” and that the property conveyance had taken place without his knowledge in November of 2022. It further states that a signature from Jeudi was forged.

The lawsuit states that on the same day Marie Theodat obtained the “fraudulent/forged Quitclaim Deed fraudulently conveying the property to 144 Fuller LLC,” Boston Trust Finance LLC, a subsidiary of the private lender Boston Trust, granted a commercial mortgage and security agreement worth more than $2 million against the property to 144 Fuller LLC.

The mortgage secured by Theodat using 144 Fuller St. was used to secure the mortgage on a property located at 1806 Beacon St. in Waban, a home owned by her sister, Danny Levy and Levy’s husband Wayne Levy, “which had been foreclosed, then purchased at a subsequent foreclosure sale, by Marie Theodat at the time of this fraudulent scheme.”

Related Articles

Politics |


City Councilors bring Boston school bus issues before state education board

Politics |


Mayor Wu names new head of Planning Department

Politics |


USPS hits back at Boston City Council service failure claims, says delivery is within ‘performance standards’

Politics |


Boston City Council calls emergency hearing to address USPS failures, mail-in voting concerns ahead of election

Politics |


Israel-Hamas resolution calling for the Israeli flag to be raised on Boston City Hall Plaza leads to Council fireworks

The two mortgage transactions occurred on the same day and were both handled by Boston Trust, which, per the lawsuit, benefited from acquiring loan interest on the “fraudulent” mortgage secured by Theodat and being able to acquire the Dorchester home at a “substantial discount from market value after foreclosing upon it.”

A January 2024 foreclosure deed recorded by Boston Trust Lending LLC granted the 144 Fuller St. property to Boston Trust Holdings LLC for $650,000. The market value for the home is listed in the lawsuit at roughly $1.1 million.

An email seeking comment from Boston Trust was not returned.

“It’s a very wild case,” Arroyo told the Herald, later adding, “This is a situation where this is an 88-year-old man who bought this home in 1989 for him and his family, and is now being asked to essentially pay for the privilege of living in his home that he owned free and clear, when he is dealing with dementia.”

While eviction proceedings initiated by Boston Trust are pending, a Land Court judge ruled that St. Cloud must pay $3,800 in monthly rent, per a Sept. 17 filing, with the first amount due by Oct. 7. Arroyo said he plans to appeal.

“It’s an incredibly difficult time for the family,” Arroyo said. “We’re going to do everything we can from a legal perspective to protect them.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Previous post Howie Carr: Massachusetts has gone full Canton
Next post NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance