BOSTON – High-end homebuilder Kent Pecoy, 66, tossed in the towel and pled guilty to charges of fleecing the United States and falsifying mortgage documents for a client, the Department of Justice dropped the hammer on Wednesday. Pecoy, the former head honcho of the defunct West Springfield luxury construction outfit, faces a potential haul of three decades behind bars after copping to a fraud conspiracy and a separate charge of making false statements to a bank, the Justice Department report.
Having crafted an empire of elegance with Kent Pecoy & Sons, Construction Inc., alongside enterprises like Sturbridge Development, LLC and Legacy General Contractors, LLC, Pecoy's fall from grace lands him a sentencing date of Aug. 20, 2024, by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni. The high-flyer was snared alongside his progeny Jason Pecoy, and golf-course tycoon Kevin M. Kennedy, in a plot to conceal cold hard cash from Uncle Sam, following a superseding indictment issued in January 2020.
The once-respected builder's hands got dirty from 2009 to 2016, engaging in a shell game with over a cool million in lettuce meant for the IRS. He pocketed wads of cash totaling $1,116,900 from Kennedy for a couple of top-tier pads in East Longmeadow and on the Cape – while keeping the loot out of the prying eyes of federal bean counters. According to a statement released by the Justice Department, Pecoy dribbled the money directly to vendors instead of stashing it in the bank, laundering sub-$10,000 amounts when he did.
The feds painted a picture of Pecoy's underhanded accounting with a broad brush, outlining his meticulous records of Kennedy's off-the-books payments, along with phony contracts and cooked books designed to bury the truth. In 2010, joining hands with Kennedy, the duo lied to Charles Schwab Bank in a loan application – underplaying the sale price of a property and masking the true cost of a home's construction with a $160,000 cash down payment catcher's mitt.
If the gavel falls hard, Pecoy could end up trading tailored suits for a prison jumpsuit, facing penalties best spelled with a "B" – up to 30 years in prison, $1 million in fines on the false statement charge, and up to five years garnished with a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy rap. These penalties follow the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors, according to the Justice Department's playbook.
With Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy orchestrating the announcement and IRS top cop Harry Chavis, Jr. leading the investigative charge, prosecutors Steven H. Breslow and Neil L. Desroches, plus Trial Attorney Eric B. Powers of the Justice Department's Tax Division, are going for the full-court press. Meanwhile, Kent Pecoy's son Jason is still warming up for his day in court, maintaining his innocence and chewing on a not guilty plea.
