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A former NESN employee convicted of defrauding the television network of more than $500,000 to “fund a lavish lifestyle” has been sentenced to federal prison.
Ariel Legassa, 52, of Connecticut, was sentenced Tuesday to 3 1/2 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release for a corporate fraud scheme. Regassa was also ordered to pay $580,000 in restitution and forfeiture, and a $1,000 special assessment.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Regassa orchestrated a scheme to defraud NESN from December 2020 to January 2022.
In early 2021, Legassa negotiated a contract with a New York company to provide web development services to NESN. Meanwhile, Legassa created a fake business with the same name as the new vendor. He then used this company to receive fraudulent payments from NESN.
During the term of the contract between the New York company and NESN, Regassa created and approved 11 bogus invoices from bogus businesses while approving legitimate invoices from the New York company.
In total, NESN paid more than $500,000 to Regassa’s fake company. Regassa spent the money on personal expenses, including a private plane, a Tesla, a BMW, a Land Rover, and credit card bills. He also transferred his funds to other accounts under his control.
“Defrauding your employer to supplement your salary is a really bad career move,” said Jody Cohen, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division. “However, Ariel Legassa did just that, taking advantage of the trust NESN placed in him and stealing over $575,000, which he used to fund his lavish lifestyle.
“Justice demands that financial fraudsters like Regassa be held accountable for their crimes, and today’s sentence ensures he will pay for his crimes with prison time and restitution,” Cohen said. added.
In November, Legassa was found guilty of seven counts of mail fraud and three counts of unlawful financial transactions after a five-day jury trial.
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