Ex-Attleboro man linked to Guiliani associates apologizes for his role in fraud

By David Linton

January 26, 2021

David Correia

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATTLEBORO — A former city man has apologized for conspiring with associates of Rudy Giuliani to bilk investors through a purported fraud-busting company and for lying to federal election officials.

“I regret what I did and I am sorry for it,” David Correia, 45, wrote in the letter to a federal judge in Manhattan that was among court papers filed Monday.

Correia pleaded guilty Oct. 29 to making false statements to the Federal Elections Commission about political contributions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 8 and faces about three years in prison, according to sentencing guidelines, which are not binding.

His lawyer, William Harrington of New York, is asking the judge to spare Correia from going to prison and said his client had no prior criminal history.

Federal prosecutors have not yet filed their sentencing memorandum to Judge J. Paul Oetken, but a prison sentence of 33 months to 41 months was stipulated in the plea agreement.

Correia, a 1993 graduate of Attleboro High School, now lives in West Palm Beach, Fla. with his wife and two children, ages 6 and 9.

In his sentencing memorandum, Harrington depicted Correia as a hard-working businessman and devoted husband and father who placed his trust in the wrong person.

Correia was in a business called Fraud Guarantee, headed by Giuliani associate Lev Parnas. The company was supposed to protect investors against fraud. But prosecutors say it had no clients and ripped off investors of $2.3 million.

While prosecutors said the company was a fraud, Harrington said Correia believed in it and trusted Parnas because he had a luxurious lifestyle and appeared to be successful.

“Mr. Correia was enamored by Mr. Parnas’s success,” Harrington wrote.

In his letter, Correia said he ignored “red flags” and advice to be wary of Parnas. However, he said he only blamed himself “for giving in on many subjects.”

As part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, Correia has agreed to pay $2.3 million in restitution to investors and forfeit $43,650.

Harrington said Corriea believed the company could have been successful and the $43,650 represents the all the money he received for his work in seven years.

In arguing that his client should be spared a prison sentence, Harrington said Corriea’s wife is the primary breadwinner as a physician’s assistant and he is the primary caretaker of the children.

“A period of incarceration will fracture his family and disrupt his children’s lives,” Harrington wrote.

The defense lawyer said Correia overcame a difficult childhood and his parents’ divorce to become a successful restaurant owner before going into business with Parnas.

A gifted golfer from the age of 12, Correia abandoned efforts to become a professional in order to help a friend who experienced some hard times, Harrington said.

Portions of the documents were redacted at Harrington’s request.

The cases against Parnas and the other defendants are still pending.