Newburyport Man Arrested in Scheme to Defraud Home Repair Insurance Provider

BOSTON - A Newburyport man has been charged with defrauding a home repair insurance provider by billing for purported repair jobs that were never performed.

Christian Decristofaro, 40, has been arrested and charged by criminal complaint with wire fraud. Decristofaro as arrested yesterday and will make an initial appearance in federal court in Boston at 2:30 p.m. today.

According to the charging document, Decristofaro allegedly caused NE Premier Home Services LLC (NE Premier) - a purported home repair company he controlled - to enroll as a contractor with the home repair insurance provider (the victim). It is alleged that Decristofaro used false or stolen identities to enroll non-existent or unsuspecting homeowners in insurance plans with the victim insurance provider. Decristofaro then allegedly reported fictitious home emergencies to the victim on behalf of the purported homeowners and requested that NE Premier be assigned to perform the repairs. He then allegedly caused NE Premier to bill the victim insurance provider for the repair jobs, even though inspections of the properties showed no evidence of any repair work having been done. As a result of these fraudulent billings, between approximately 2022 and 2023, the victim insurance provider allegedly paid NE Premier at least $1.5 million for services that NE Premier had not rendered.

The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, restitution and forfeiture. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan C. Cleary and Leslie A. Wright of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.