- Office of Attorney General Maura Healey
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Jillian Fennimore
Boston — A Falmouth man has been indicted on larceny and money laundering charges in connection with a used construction machinery scheme involving $635,000 in equipment, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today. The defendant allegedly accepted payment for equipment from multiple buyers but never delivered the product or provided refunds to the customers.
Dennis Desgroseilliers, age 67, of Falmouth, was indicted on Monday by a Suffolk Grand Jury on charges of Larceny Over $250 (10 counts) as a Common and Notorious Thief and Money Laundering (2 counts). He will be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court at a later date. Desgroseilliers faces a twenty-year maximum sentence under the Common and Notorious Thief statute.
“We allege that this defendant accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in payment for equipment that he never delivered to buyers, and used that money to continue to fund his illicit scheme,” AG Healey said. “He allegedly took advantage of multiple victims, both in the U.S. and internationally, who were attempting to make legitimate business transactions.”
The AG’s Office began an investigation in June 2014. Desgroseilliers has two companies, DJD Associations and Machinery USA. Through these companies, Desgroseilliers purportedly buys, sells, and trades construction equipment locally, nationwide, and internationally.
Authorities allege that Desgroseilliers stole more than $635,000 from 10 victims who paid him for construction equipment that was never delivered.
The AG’s investigation revealed that Desgroseilliers would communicate with, and at times meet, various interested buyers, both individuals and companies who were doing business across the nation and internationally. These buyers would provide Desgroseilliers with an agreed upon amount for used construction machinery such as excavators, backhoes, and cranes.
However, authorities allege that in most instances, the equipment was never delivered nor did customers receive refunds from Desgroseilliers. Desgroseilliers would allegedly fabricate various excuses as to why the equipment had not been delivered.
In one case, a customer contacted Desgroseilliers about buying equipment for his company in Nigeria. Authorities allege that the buyer paid Desgroseilliers $78,000 for an excavator and $80,000 for a wheel loader, but the equipment was never delivered, despite continuous requests from the buyer.
In another instance, Desgroseilliers received $110,000 from a Pennsylvania shipping company for two pieces of heavy duty construction equipment, but the company never received the equipment or a refund.
If you believe you may be a victim of this scheme, please call (617) 963-2223.
These charges are allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Marina Moriarty, with assistance from Victim Advocate John Malone of AG Healey’s Victim Services Division and Paralegal Emily Bartlett. It was investigated Massachusetts State Police assigned to the AG’s Office and Investigator Bryan Freitas of AG Healey’s Financial Investigations Division.
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