SPRINGFIELD — A woman from the Feeding Hills section of Agawam has agreed to plead guilty in connection with what prosecutors describe as a scheme to defraud commercial lenders.
Christine Gendron, 59, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, the United States Attorney’s office said in a statement. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the court.
Gendron was a certified public accountant who worked as the financial manager for JLL Realty Developers, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Gendron was charged in connection with her sister, Jeannette Norman, and brother-in-law Louis R. Masaschi whose real estate holdings once included the historic Clock Tower Building at 113 State Street in downtown Springfield, prosecutors said.
Norman’s case is still pending.
Masaschi pleaded guilty on April 22 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of wire fraud.
Prosecutors said the three defendants provided materially false, fictitious and fraudulent financial information — including false rent rolls and forged lease agreements for properties in Springfield, East Longmeadow and Enfield, Connecticut — to obtain loans for their companies.
After receiving the loans, the companies of the defendants allegedly made some or no payments and ultimately defaulted on the loans, causing substantial losses to the financial institutions and commercial lenders, prosecutors said.
Between May 2016 and November 2018, Masaschi, and allegedly Norman, fraudulently obtained or sought to obtain approximately $60 million in loans and caused a total loss of $19 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The city of Springfield eventually wrested ownership of the Clock Tower Building and other properties away in order to start redevelopment in the neighborhood.
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