A guide to the 24 criminal counts against Jasiel Correia (2024)

BOSTON (WPRI) — During the trial of Jasiel Correia over the past several weeks, jurors and the public heard about his alleged investment and extortion schemes before and during his time as mayor of Fall River.

The testimony included descriptions of meetings at cigar bars to discuss alleged bribes, $950-a-night luxury hotel stays allegedly funded with stolen money, and a dramatic rendezvous in the mayor’s city SUV where one witness claims Correia was handed a cash bribe.

After a little more than three days of deliberations, the jury convicted Correia of 21 of the 24 criminal counts against him.

Each count was tied to a specific action Correia was accused of taking, and in some cases, connected to a specific listed victim. Correia pleaded not guilty to all of them.

Below are the 24 counts, the description listed in the indictment and further context from what Target 12 knows about the case.

Count A: Wire fraud | GUILTY

Date: 5/5/2014
What the indictment says: Processing of $6,000 check #112 from David Cabeceiras to SnoOwl
What to know: Cabeceiras is an orthodontist who testified he invested a total of $145,000 in Correia’s tech app SnoOwl, believing it to be for the development of the app. Prosecutors say Correia used the money for personal expenses and to fund a “lavish lifestyle,” thereby misrepresenting to Cabeceiras what his investment would pay for.

Count B: Wire fraud | GUILTY

Date: 11/5/2014
What the indictment says: Email from Correia to Mark Eisenberg attaching SnoOwl business plan
What to know: Eisenberg is a retired New Bedford businessman who testified he invested $25,000 in SnoOwl for app development. Similar to with Cabeceiras, prosecutors claim Correia misrepresented what the money was for and spent it on personal expenses. This count refers specifically to the SnoOwl business plan emailed by Correia, which described SnoOwl’s current expenses as “negligible” and said nothing about Correia taking a salary.

Count C: Wire fraud | GUILTY

Date: 11/8/2014
What the indictment says: Email from Correia to Mark Eisenberg re: equity stake, investor agreement
What to know: This is another count related to alleged misrepresentations made to investor Eisenberg, but in a different email. The investment agreement referenced in the count says Eisenberg’s $25,000 would be for “developing, commercializing and operating the business concept of SnoOwl.”

Count D: Wire fraud | GUILTY

Date: 11/18/2014
What the indictment says: Processing of $25,000 check #130 from Mark Eisenberg to SnoOwl
What to know: Similar to counts B and C, this count is specifically for cashing or depositing the check from Eisenberg, which prosecutors claim was fraudulent because Correia misrepresented to Eisenberg what his investment money was for.

Count E: Wire Fraud | GUILTY

Date: 11/18/2014
What they indictment says: Processing of $25,000 check #3808 from Victor Martinez to SnoOwl
What to know: Victor Martinez, chief operating officer at Piezoni’s Pizza, is another investor whom Correia allegedly defrauded. Martinez testified that he would never have invested in the company if he knew Correia would use the funds on personal expenses. (Asked where his money is now, Martinez said, “it’s probably buried right next to the app. It’s dead.”)

Count F: Wire Fraud | GUILTY

Date: 11/18/2014
What the indictment says: Email from Correia to Victor Martinez re: signed investor agreement
What to know: Similar to count E, this count is specifically for the misrepresentations Correia is accused of making to Martinez about his investment.

Count G: Wire Fraud | GUILTY

Date: 1/14/2015
What the indictment says: Processing of $20,000 check #131 from Stephen Miller to SnoOwl
What to know: Miller, a Rhode Island businessman, testified that he first met Correia at a bar and thought he was a “boy wonder.” He testified to investing a total of $70,000 in the company, and said Correia told him he wouldn’t take a dime in salary.

Count H: Wire fraud | GUILTY

Date: 5/5/2015
What the indictment says: Processing of $5,000 check #2412 from David Cabeceiras to SnoOwl/Correia
What to know: Cabeceiras said Correia continued asking for more investment funds, claiming to need more money to keep the business going. He testified that he felt “deceived” when he found out the money was used for personal expenses.

Count I: Wire fraud | GUILTY

Date: 5/5/2015
What the indictment says: Processing of $4,500 Check #2413 from David Cabeceiras to SnoOwl/Correia
What to know: Similar to counts A and H, this is another investment check from Dr. Cabeceiras.

Count J: Filing False Tax Returns | GUILTY

Date: 2/18/2015
What the indictment says: Form 1040, Tax Year 2013
What to know: Correia is accused of understating his true income on his 2013 IRS tax return by failing to declare the money prosecutors claim he took from investors for personal expenses.

Count K: Filing False Tax Returns | GUILTY

Date: 2/18/2015
What the indictment says: Form 1040, Tax Year 2014
What to know: Correia is accused of understating his true income on his 2014 IRS tax return by failing to declare the money prosecutors claim he took from investors for personal expenses.

Count L: Filing False Tax Returns | GUILTY

Date: 5/30/2017
What the indictment says: Form 1040X, Tax Year 2013
What to know: Correia amended his 2013 tax return in 2017, but is accused of continuing to understate his income and falsely claiming certain personal expenses were SnoOwl expenses. An accountant who helped him amend the returns said he gave Correia a list of transactions and the then-mayor marked which were personal and which were business.

Count M: Filing False Tax Returns | GUILTY

Date: 5/30/2017
What the indictment says: Form 1040X, Tax Year 2014
What to know: The same as count L, but for the amended 2014 tax return.

Count N: Extortion Conspiracy | GUILTY

Date: June 2016 – Sept. 2016
What the indictment says: Victim is listed as David Brayton. Official Act(s): Issuance of non-opposition letter and issuance of host community agreement
What to know: David Brayton, who was given immunity from prosecution, was the owner of a marijuana company called Xiphias Wellness. He testified he paid a $100,000 bribe through middleman Antonio “Tony” Costa in exchange for the non-opposition letter from Correia. Costa has pleaded guilty and testified at trial. The “conspiracy” part of this charge means Correia allegedly worked with another person or people to commit the extortion.

Count O: Extortion | GUILTY

Date: June 2016 – Sept. 2016
What the indictment says: Victim is listed as David Brayton. Official Act(s): Issuance of non-opposition letter & issuance of host community agreement
What to know: This is very similar to count N, but that count was for the conspiracy and this one is for Correia allegedly extorting Brayton.

Count P: Extortion Conspiracy | GUILTY

Date: May 2018 – March 2019.
What the indictment says: Victim is listed as Brian Bairos. Official Act(s): issuance of non-opposition letter & issuance of host community agreement
What to know: Similar to Brayton, Brian Bairos also wanted to open a marijuana shop and testified to giving $50,000 cash to Costa as a bribe for Correia. Costa said he left it in a shed belonging to Hildegar Camara, who gave it back because he thought it was “fed money.” Costa said he kept the cash for himself and then got pounds of marijuana from Bairos for a bribe instead. Costa and Camara have pleaded guilty, while Bairos received immunity from prosecutors.

Count R: Extortion Conspiracy | GUILTY

Date: July 2018 – Sept. 2018
What the indictment says: Victim is listed as Matthew Pichette. Official Act(s): issuance of non-opposition letter & issuance of host community agreement
What to know: Matthew Pichette said he wanted to open a marijuana micro-business with cultivation and edibles. He testified that his friend David Hebert knew the mayor and helped broker a $25,000 bribe for the non-opposition letter. Hebert has pleaded guilty but did not testify at trial. Pichette received immunity.

Count Q: Extortion | GUILTY

Date: May 2018 – March 2019
What the indictment says: Victim is listed as Brian Bairos. Official Act(s): issuance of non-opposition letter & issuance of host community agreement
What to know: This is very similar to count P, but that count was for the conspiracy and this one is for Correia allegedly extorting Bairos.

Count S: Extortion | GUILTY

Date: July 2018 – Sept. 2018
What the indictment says: Victim is listed as Matthew Pichette. Official Act(s): issuance of non-opposition letter & issuance of host community agreement
What to know: This is very similar to count R, but that count was for the conspiracy and this one is for Correia allegedly extorting Pichette.

Count T: Extortion Conspiracy | GUILTY

Date: June 2018 – July 2018
What the indictment says: Victim is listed as Charles Saliby. Official Act(s): Issuance of non-opposition letter & issuance of host community agreement
What to know: Saliby testified that he handed Correia $75,000 in his mayoral SUV in exchange for the letter of non-opposition and the host community agreement for his proposed pot shop, which would have been located next to his convenience store. He also said the bribe was negotiated inside the Guimond Farms store with then-chief of staff Genoveva Andrade present. Andrade has pleaded guilty, but did not testify at trial.

Count U: Extortion | GUILTY

Date: June 2018 – July 2018
What the indictment says: Victim is listed as Charles Saliby. Official Act(s): Issuance of non-opposition letter & issuance of host community agreement
What to know: This is very similar to count T, but that was the conspiracy and this is the alleged extortion.

Count V: Extortion Conspiracy | NOT GUILTY

Date: Jan. 2017 – Sept. 2017
What the indictment says: Victim is listed as Antonio Costa. Official Act(s): Activation of water to 379 Kilburn; issuance of trench permit; payment of invoice for work done
What to know: Costa was the owner of the Kilburn building and testified he gave Correia a Rolex watch to bribe him to a get this work done on his water line. Separately, Costa is also an admitted middleman in the marijuana extortion scheme.

Count W: Extortion | NOT GUILTY

Date: Jan. 2017 – Sept. 2017
What the indictment says: Victim is listed as Antonio Costa. Official Act(s): Activation of water to 379 Kilburn; issuance of trench permit; payment of invoice for work done
What to know: These are the same events as count V, but that count was the conspiracy and this count is the actual extortion.

Count X: Bribery | NOT GUILTY

Date: Nov. 2017 – July 2018
What the indictment says: “Correia solicited, demanded and accepted approximately $22,800 from his chief of staff Genoveva Andrade in return for agreeing to appoint Andrade and allowing her to remain in her position.”
What to know: Andrade pleaded guilty in this case, but did not testify at trial. Prosecutors showed the jury bank records that indicate Andrade cut checks to Correia after she got paid by the city. A marijuana vendor named Chris Harkins also testified that Andrade told him over lunch that she had to give half her salary to the mayor.