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Edwin Tavarez, 48, of Garfield, N.J., pleaded guilty to wire fraud in May and was sentenced on Monday, Dec. 18, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. He must also repay the $1,515,836 million he stole.
Tavarez conned a decades-long friend into "investing" in an industrial property in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, authorities said. Tavarez told his friend they could make upwards of $17 million by converting the land into condominiums and a shopping center.
From March 2015 through February 2020, Tavarez gaslit his friend with fake updates on the development through text messages and claimed the lack of progress was because of permit problems, engineering concerns, and governmental bureaucracy, federal authorities said.
In truth, he never reached out to the property owner to discuss purchasing the land, and it was never for sale, authorities continued.
He used the money to fund his restaurant in the Bronx, New York, and go on more than 100 gambling trips to two Connecticut casinos, the prosecutor said.
Tavarez stopped responding to his friend's text messages in 2020, which prompted police to get involved, officials said.
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