A Hopkinton couple has been sentenced in federal court for their roles in multiple fraud schemes involving workers’ compensation insurance, the Small Business Administration (SBA), and a mortgage lender.
Ronaldo Solano, 52, received a sentence of one year and one day in prison, followed by two years of supervised release with six months on home detention. Adriana Solano, 41, was sentenced to time served and 27 months of supervised release, including three months on home detention. Both were ordered to pay $1,625,872.03 jointly in restitution. Additionally, Ronaldo Solano must pay an extra $627,675.88 in restitution.
In January 2025, Ronaldo Solano pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud. Adriana Solano pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud. The couple had been indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2024.
According to court documents, between approximately 2012 and 2020, Ronaldo Solano operated a roofing and construction business under H&R Roofing & Construction Inc. and H&R Roofing & Siding Corp., along with his wife Adriana Solano. During this period, they avoided over $627,000 in workers’ compensation insurance premiums by underreporting payroll and paying employees through an uninsured third company.
From about 2021 to 2022, the couple submitted a loan application for H&R Roofing & Siding Corp. under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program established by the CARES Act for pandemic relief. They requested $2 million for working capital and other eligible expenses but transferred $1 million of those funds into their personal account after receiving them. More than $825,000 was used as a down payment on a luxury home in Hopkinton. They also borrowed $770,500 from a mortgage lender without disclosing that EIDL funds were being used as assets for the down payment.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley stated: “United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Field Office of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General made the announcement today.” She added that valuable assistance came from the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen A. Kearney is prosecuting the case.
The CARES Act was enacted on March 29, 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic through programs such as EIDL loans offered by the SBA for certain business expenses like payroll or fixed debts (https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus).
The Department of Justice’s COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force was created on May 17, 2021 to coordinate efforts against pandemic-related fraud across government agencies (https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus). This case was also investigated with support from the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Fraud Task Force—an oversight group bringing together agents from multiple Inspectors General offices—and PRAC’s Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence which uses advanced data analysis techniques for pandemic relief investigations.
Anyone with information about attempted COVID-19 related fraud can report it via phone at 866-720-5721 or online at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
