The wife of former State Representative and West Haven city employee Michael DiMassa has been released from prison and is on home confinement.
Lauren DiMassa, 39, formerly known as Lauren Knox, received a six-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to conspiring with her husband to steal COVID-19 relief funds from the City of West Haven, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Her surrender date was May 23 and she was scheduled to be released on Nov. 11, but was released on Oct. 20, according to the Bureau of Prisons website.
Her husband, Michael DiMassa, pleaded guilty on Nov. 1, 2022 to three counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He was supposed to start his prison sentence on July 31, but in July a judge postponed the sentence to allow him to travel to Texas if he needed to be with his pregnant wife and bring the baby back to Connecticut.
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He has been caring for the baby and is now scheduled to report to prison on Dec. 4.
The case
Between July 2020 and October 2021, Michael DiMassa submitted fraudulent invoices to West Haven for services related to a youth violence prevention program and for youth violence COVID-19-related expenses, according to the U.S. Attorney.
The city made 16 payments to DiMassa, totaling $147,776.10. The invoices listed charges for in-home counseling, cleaning supplies, special needs hourly service, wi-fi assistance for low- and moderate-income families, licensing fees, equipment rentals, meals, and a fall youth clinic.
The DiMassas never provided any services to West Haven, according to prosecutors.
Lauren DiMassa was arrested on Feb. 18, 2022, and pleaded guilty on July 14, 2022 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
She was also ordered to pay $147,776.10 in restitution.
The U.S. Attorney’s office said Michael DiMassa agreed to pay restitution of $1.2 million.
Federal prosecutors said Michael DiMassa and 66-year-old John Bernardo, who was a housing specialist in West Haven's Office of Community Development Administration, formed Compass Investment Group, LLC in January 2021 and in February 2021 and the company fraudulently billed the City of West Haven and its “COVID-19 Grant Department” for services that were not performed.
Between February 2021 and September 2021, the City of West Haven paid Compass Investment Group more than $636,000 and federal officials said Bernardo received a portion of the funds.
The judge ordered him to pay $58,927.25 in restitution.
