A Massachusetts man who managed several sober homes in the Greater Boston area has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in multiple fraud schemes. Nicholas Espinosa, 39, formerly of Randolph, received his sentence from U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young and will also serve three years of supervised release.
Espinosa pleaded guilty in October 2024 to charges including two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of conspiracy to make false statements to a mortgage lending business, 15 counts of wire fraud, six counts of unlawful monetary transactions (money laundering), and one count of making false statements to a mortgage lender. He was arrested and charged alongside Daniel Cleggett in March 2023.
Daniel Cleggett founded A Vision From God LLC (AVFG) in November 2016. The company operated sober homes under names such as Brady’s Place, Lakeshore Retreat, and Lambert House across Boston, Wakefield, Quincy, and Weymouth. Espinosa was responsible for managing the daily operations.
Authorities say that Cleggett, Espinosa, and a client conspired to defraud a New York-based family trust that paid for the client’s stay at Brady’s Place in Quincy. According to court records: “Cleggett and Espinosa overcharged the family trust for room and board by up to $12,500 per month by submitting false and fraudulent invoices to the family trust. Cleggett and Espinosa would then issue ‘refund’ checks to the client in furtherance of the fraud scheme.”
Between October 2019 and December 2021, Cleggett used straw purchasers including Espinosa to buy three residential properties intended for use as sober homes in Weymouth and Boston. They submitted false documentation stating these were primary residences when they were not.
The case was announced by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge at IRS Criminal Investigation’s Boston office; and Ted E. Docks from the FBI’s Boston Division. Police departments from Kingston, Randolph, and Quincy provided assistance with Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Mulcahy and Dustin Chao prosecuting.