Mayor Jasiel Correia pleaded “Not Guilty” to federal charges in a Boston court today; charges that allege he defrauded investors of his former business SnoOwl of hundreds of thousands of dollars. State prosecutors say Correia stole the money to live a ‘lavish’ lifestyle, and finance his political career. The mayor was indicted on thirteen counts of wire fraud and filing false tax returns and arrested at his home this morning. After his arraignment this afternoon, Correia was expected to address the media. Instead, his Chief-of-Staff Gen Andrade handed out this press release:
Statement of Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia
“I want to state, unequivocally, that I am innocent of all the allegations and charges made against me today.
Being an entrepreneur is what America is all about, and that is why I started SnowOwl when I was just 19 years old to develop a truly innovative app to better connect local businesses with local customers. I put my blood, sweat and tears into building this company. The SnowOwl app was completed and approved for downloading from the Apple App Store. At no time did I ever mislead our investors.
I look forward to my day in court to share my side of the story and to clear my name.
As I am innocent of these charges, I will absolutely not be resigning from this office. I love Fall River and its residents. It has been and will continue to be an honor to serve them and to move our city forward. I want to reassure all of my constituents that these unfortunate circumstances will in no way impact the functioning of city government, or my commitment to work as hard as I possible can, every day, to represent the citizens of the great City of Fall River.”
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