BOSTON BROTHERS FOUND GUILTY OF CONSPIRING TO DEFRAUD ONE FUND BOSTON OF $2 MILLION, STEAL FROM REAL VICTIMS OF BOMBING
Claimed Their Long-Deceased Aunt Suffered Double Amputation Due to Boston Marathon Bombings
BOSTON – A pair of brothers from Boston have been found guilty for attempting to defraud
The One Fund Boston of $2 million by submitting a false claim on behalf
of their dead aunt, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced today.
“These
two defendants orchestrated a callous scheme to steal more than $2
million from the real victims of the Boston marathon bombings,” said AG
Coakley. “We are pleased that a jury has now held them both
accountable.”
Following a four-day trial, a Suffolk Superior Court jury today found Branden Mattier, 23, of the South End, guilty of Conspiracy to Commit Larceny over $250, Attempt to Commit Larceny over $250, and Identity Fraud. The jury also found his brother, Domunique Grice, 28, also of the South End, guilty of Conspiracy to Commit Larceny over $250 and Attempt to Commit Larceny over $250.
Mattier and Grice will be sentenced by Superior Court Judge Jeffery Locke on June 23
in Suffolk Superior Court. Both defendants were taken into custody
after the verdict was returned and held without bail pending sentencing.
In June 2013,
The One Fund Boston referred the matter to the AG’s Office after it
suspected that the claim submitted by Mattier and Grice on behalf of
their aunt, Onevia Bradley, was false.
The AG’s investigation revealed that on May 7, 2013
Mattier and Grice attended a Town Hall meeting held by The One Fund at
the Boston Public Library on behalf of their supposedly injured aunt.
Afterwards, Mattier spoke with the media about the importance of their
aunt being compensated immediately because the hospital bills were
coming in.
Mattier followed-up on May 29, 2013
by sending an email to The One Fund asking if his aunt could make a
claim as a double amputee if the amputation was expected to be performed
in the future. In June, The One Fund received a claim form, put
together by Mattier and Grice. It included a letter, created by Mattier, but purportedly from the chief of trauma services at the Boston Medical Center affirming their aunt as a double amputee. The letter was dated May 2, 2013, a full 27 days before Mattier’s email to The One Fund saying their aunt might lose her other leg.
Investigation also revealed that at the end of June, the brothers
attended a private ceremonial closing of a memorial erected in Copley
Square and a complimentary dinner at the Seaport Hotel, both meant only
for bombing victims and their families.
According
to officials at the Boston Medical Center, their aunt never received
treatment at the hospital in connection with the Boston Marathon bombing
nor did the letter originate from the trauma center. The investigation
further revealed through public records that Onevia Bradley had actually
died more than 10 years earlier.
As part of the investigation, Mattier signed for a letter on July 1, 2013
informing him that his aunt had been awarded $2.195 million from The
One Fund Boston. The letter informed Mattier that he would receive the
check by courier the next morning, July 2, 2013. State police arrested Mattier after delivering the simulated check.
The
investigation also showed that Mattier and Grice had scheduled an
appointment to test drive a new Mercedes-Benz E350 the same day the
check was scheduled to be delivered. As a result of Mattier’s arrest,
they did not attend that appointment.
Mattier was arrested on July 2, 2013 by Massachusetts State Police assigned to the AG’s Office. He was arraigned on July 3, 2013 in Boston Municipal Court. Mattier and Grice were indicted by a Suffolk County Grand Jury on August 29, 2013. Today, they were found guilty by a Suffolk Superior Court jury. They will be sentenced in Suffolk Superior Court on June 23.
This
matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Gina Masotta of the
AG’s Public Integrity Division and Assistant Attorney General John
Verner, Chief of the AG’s Criminal Bureau, with assistance from
Investigator Sallyann Nelligan, Victim Advocate Lisa Solecki, State
Police assigned to the AG’s Office, and the AG’s Digital Evidence Lab. One Fund Boston promptly reported the allegations, and cooperated throughout the investigation.
