BOSTON — Federal prosecutors on Wednesday suggested that convicted extortion middleman Hildegar Camara may be entitled to restitution after being conned out of a $50,000 investment in Jasiel Correia II’s app company SnoOwl, but argued that he should be last in line to get his money back.
Asking for restitution:Jasiel Correia co-conspirator Camara asks judge to recoup $50,000 lost in SnoOwl scheme
Camara, the former head of Bristol County Training Consortium under Correia’s administration, pleaded guilty in September 2019 for his part in the former mayor’s conspiracy to shake down would-be marijuana vendors, extorting them for the paperwork necessary to open businesses during Correia’s reign.
He pleaded guilty to six counts: two counts each of extortion, aiding and abetting, extortion conspiracy and lying to federal officials. On July 21, he was sentenced to three years of probation, with 18 months of home confinement.
Government: Camara may be a victim, but pay him last
Camara recently asked Judge Douglas Woodlock to be considered eligible for restitution under the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act, saying he lost his $50,000 investment in SnoOwl, money that was determined to have been squandered by Correia on luxury items for himself and others. The government sought and won restitution for five other victims of the SnoOwl scheme, but did not seek any restitution for Camara.
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“There is no evidence that Camara participated in or was complicit in any manner with Correia’s fraudulent [SnoOwl] scheme,” Camara’s attorney Paul Kelly argued. “In short, he was uninvolved in Correia’s wrongful conduct involving SnoOwl, other than as an unsophisticated and innocent investor.”
A response by federal prosecutors filed Wednesday notes that exceptions to the MVRA are as “rare as hen’s teeth,” according to a court filing.
Federal prosecutors indicated that they were unable to find a court case “denying restitution to a co-conspirator of one crime, who was defrauded as part of a separate offense.” They noted a Second Circuit ruling that showed “the MVRA may not be denied simply because the victim had greedy or dishonest motives.”
“Thus, a would-be burglar who is robbed by a potential accomplice before either of them commits the planned crime may be entitled to restitution. On the other hand, restitution would not be appropriate if one burglar were to rob another of the proceeds of a heist they have just committed,” wrote the federal prosecutors, citing a Second Circuit Court decision.
Tracing Jasiel Correia’s fall:From entrepreneur and mayor, to convicted corruption kingpin
But the government suggested that the other SnoOwl victims should be repaid first.
“If the Court determines that Camara is entitled to restitution as a result of his investment in the SnoOwl App, the government respectfully suggests that the Court may consider whether to allow restitution payment to Camara only after restitution is paid to the other victims who, unlike Camara, have not been convicted of a criminal offense involving the defendant, Jasiel Correia,” wrote prosecutors.
Earlier this month, Woodlock signed a restitution order, giving back $310,240 to five victims who were defrauded in Correia’s now-defunct smartphone app business, SnoOwl.
Jasiel Correia and Hildegar Camara’s history
In May, Camara was a key witness against Correia in the former mayor’s fraud and corruption trial, which lasted four weeks and saw Correia ultimately convicted of 11 counts of wire fraud, extortion and extortion conspiracy. Due to his testimony and cooperation in the Correia case, the government sought no prison time for Camara.
A family friend of Correia, Camara described thinking of the former city mayor as a “son.” He invested $50,000 to help develop SnoOwl in late 2014 and 2015, according to a court filing. Correia had just turned 23 years old and was elected as mayor of Fall River later in 2015.
Correia appointed Camara to executive director to BCTC, a state employment and training agency with an $84,000 salary, in July 2016. That same month, he allegedly helped the then-mayor extort a bribe of $250,000 from a marijuana vendor.
Jo C. Goode may be reached at jgoode@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism and subscribe to The Herald News today!
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