The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office announced indictments against Maritza Juliao, former head of Crispus Attucks Children's Center (CACC) in Dorchester, for swiping nearly $127,000 from the daycare. The Suffolk County Grand Jury handed down six charges including Larceny over $1,200 by Single Scheme (3 counts) and Perjury (3 counts), according to an official statement from the Attorney General’s Office.
The investigation was set in motion back in 2021 after a CACC accountant raised concerns. The probe was a team effort between the Attorney General's Office, the Office of the Inspector General, and Massachusetts State Police. Juliao, 52, is accused of pocketing nearly $100,000 over three years by awarding herself unauthorized raises, bonuses, and other perks. In a troubling discovery, it appears that Juliao was at the helm of a cleaning service scam, funneling nearly $14,000 to CJM Cleaning Services, owned by he boyfriend Wilfredo Ortiz, Sr., for unperformed services.
CACC, largely funded by public sources and providing daycare to over 200 children, had granted Juliao control over important financial levers. Yet, the decisions about her pay were supposed to be in the hands of CACC's Board of Directors. The AG's findings suggest that Juliao had looped family into the fraudulent gains; allegedly, she shelled out $12,500 of CACC's funds to a baseball organization where she served as Vice President and her eldest son as President, Treasurer, and Director.
As part of the deceit, Juliao purportedly lied under oath on CACC's annual reports, denying any familial receipt of money or valuables from the center beyond her standard compensation. Meanwhile, her significant other Ortiz, Sr. also faces accusations, facing charges including Filing a False Tax Return (1 count) and Unemployment Fraud (1 count) for hiding CJM’s income, thus reducing his tax and unemployment insurance responsibilities. Their arraignment is set for April 15 in Suffolk Superior Court.
While these charges remain mere allegations with the defendants presumed innocent until proven guilty, this case highlights the imperative of vigilant oversight within charitable organizations. The grand jury's decision is a result of intensive investigative work by the AGO’s White Collar and Public Integrity Division and multiple state agencies, including the Department of Revenue’s Criminal Investigations Bureau and the Department of Unemployment Assistance’s Program Integrity Division. The full account of the AG's investigation can be found on the official AGO website.
