Eli Rego Held On $10K Bail As A Result Of Plymouth County Indictment Based On Turtleboy Investigative Reporting

 

Last month we broke the news that gypsy contractor Eli Rego was indicted by a Plymouth County grand jury after ADA Alexander Zane took an interest in our 7 part investigative series. Today he was held on $10K bail:

A Somerset landscaper, whose customers have taken to social media for several years, has been held on bail on charges that he schemed to steal more than $100,000 from numerous customers. Back in June, a Plymouth County grand jury returned indictments charging Eli Rego, 36, with one count each of Larceny by False Pretense, Larceny of more than $1,200 by Single Scheme, Identity Fraud, Failure to Provide Workers’ Compensation, Money Laundering, Larceny by False Pretense over $1,200 and Intimidation of a Witness. Rego was additionally indicted on two counts each of Larceny Under $1,200 and Tax Evasion, and four counts of Larceny over $1,200.

Rego allegedly operated a fraudulent landscaping business and stole considerable amounts of money from residents in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In court on Monday during his arraignment, Rego was held on $10,000 cash bail, according to a spokesperson with the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office. If released, Rego is to do no concrete work, has to stay away from all victims, and has to surrender his passport.

The indictments allege that as part of his scheme, Rego made numerous false statements concerning his landscaping expertise and background and failed to complete projects in a timely fashion in order to extend projects out and gain more money from victims. The investigation further alleges that Rego took victims’ money to benefit himself personally and used the funds for luxury items and vacations.

As part of his scheme, Rego bolstered his background by providing victims with fake references and told customers that he required additional payments for necessary building materials that were never ordered. The majority of Rego’s larceny offenses uncovered in the Plymouth County grand jury investigation occurred in 2020 and 2021. In total, it is believed that Rego’s deceptive behavior allowed for him to take approximately $100,000 from numerous victims.

In February 2021, Rego victimized several Hingham residents by fraudulently indicating that he was employed at Atlantic Concrete Construction LLC in Wareham and accepted $31,000 to construct a new seawall located on Kimball Beach Road in Hingham. Rego never initiated any work on the seawall project, and instead, falsely claimed the town of Hingham was blocking his efforts to begin construction on the project.

Rego utilized the stolen funds to carry on with his fraudulent landscaping scheme and stole money and materials from individuals located in: Westport, North Attleboro, Freetown, Whitman, Uxbridge, Foxboro, Wareham, Rehoboth, Charlton, Swansea, Somerset, Onset, Buzzards Bay, Plymouth, West Bridgewater, Fairhaven, Middleboro, Canton, Acton, Millis, Gloucester, East Falmouth, Taunton, Woburn, Milton, Revere, Granby, East Bridgewater, Plainview, Lynnfield, New Bedford, and Acushnet.

One of his former clients stated that she was swindled out of $1,000 when wanting a walkway that her son could use a walker or wheelchair on. Rego’s next court date is in Brockton in September.

I want to thank ADA Zane for his hard work in making this happen. I just write the blogs, but without people in positions of authority who are willing to act on our stories then not much gets done. I’ve had the pleasure of helping ADA Zane bring the indictment by giving him information and getting him in touch with dozens of the Concrete Cons victims. Too often these criminals get overlooked because there are so many of them. Maura Healey’s Office turned down several of the victims, but in Plymouth County they take consumer protection seriously.

Now that Eli is unable to continue to rip people off he has no way to bring in any money, and it’s going to be difficult for him to make bail. He tried and failed to smear me when I first started reporting on him. He even joined Shannon Labarre’s “team storm.” But now he’s sitting in a jail cell by himself, thinking about how he wouldn’t be sitting there right now if it weren’t for Turtleboy. How’d that work out for ya Eli?