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FBI Boston ‘deed fraud’ warning resembles Water and Sewer Commission HR director civil suit

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FBI Boston ‘deed fraud’ warning resembles Water and Sewer Commission HR director civil suit


An FBI Boston warning about a rise in quitclaim deed fraud closely resembles a civil case involving a Boston Water and Sewer Commission HR director who is alleged to have worked with relatives to swindle her elderly uncle out of his home.

The similarity has not gone unnoticed, according to Ricardo Arroyo, an ex-Boston city councilor and attorney representing the elderly man who filed suit against Marie Theodat, chief human resource officer at the Water and Sewer Commission, and three other relatives who are alleged to have been involved in the scheme.

“We did see it, and we do believe that the facts of this case fit squarely into what is described in that release by the FBI,” Arroyo told the Herald.

One of three scenarios highlighted by the FBI is “family members, often the elderly, targeted by their own relatives and close associates who convince them to transfer the property into their own name for their own financial gain.”

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The family of Rodolphe St. Cloud, the elderly man who alleged that he fell victim to a similar scheme in an August 2024 civil lawsuit, is considering filing a formal complaint with the FBI for quitclaim deed fraud — as a result of the release that was sent out by the federal agency this week, the Herald has learned.

“In keeping with DOJ policy, we cannot comment on specific cases or even confirm/deny existence of investigations,” FBI Boston spokesperson Kristen Setera said in a statement to the Herald.

The FBI Boston release warned of a rise in such fraud which it said is also known as home title theft and “involves fraudsters who forge documents to record a phony transfer of ownership.”

“Criminals can then sell either the vacant land or home, take out a mortgage on it, or even rent it out to make a profit, forcing the real owners to head to court to reclaim their property,” the FBI release states.

Of the four states included in the FBI Boston Division, Massachusetts had far more reported victims —1,576 who lost roughly $46.26 million — than Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

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“Folks across the region are having their roots literally pulled out from under them and are being left with no place to call home,” Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division, said in a statement. “They’re suffering deeply personal losses that have inflicted a significant financial and emotional toll, including shock, anger, and even embarrassment.

“We are urging the public to heed this warning and to take proactive steps to avoid losing your property,” Cohen added. “Anyone who is a victim of this type of fraud should report it to us.”

The Suffolk Superior Court lawsuit filed by St. Cloud’s attorney alleges that Theodat worked with relatives, including her sister Danny Levy to swindle their elderly and dementia-ridden uncle, St. Cloud, out of his $1.1 million Dorchester home.

The complaint alleges that Theodat, who made $202,873 with the Boston Water and Sewer Commission last year and is on paid administrative leave, “fraudulently induced” the nearly 90-year-old St. Cloud to sign over the deed to his longtime home under the “guise” that he was signing documents related to his medical care.

The property was conveyed for “less than $100” to 144 Fuller LLC, an entity named after the address of the home and managed, per the lawsuit, by Theodat; her sister Danny Levy, chief customer and employee experience officer for the MBTA; Levy’s husband Wayne Levy, chief of staff at the quasi-public agency Massachusetts Life Sciences Center; and another relative Harcher Batrival.

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“Rodolphe St. Cloud does not read or speak English and as such relied on Marie A. Theodat to translate and interpret for him,” the 2024 lawsuit states. “Mr. St. Cloud was also afflicted with dementia at the time of the signing and did not have the mental capacity to understand or execute a transfer.”

Of the listed defendants, only Batrival responded to a Herald request for comment on the potential of a formal fraud complaint being lodged with the FBI.

“Given that this is an ongoing legal case, I’m not able to comment at this time,” Batrival said in a text message. “I do want to emphasize that I take the situation seriously and intend to address the allegations appropriately through the legal process.”

Theodat described the lawsuit as “fraudulent” in a brief phone call with the Herald last year, while Danny and Wayne Levy have denied at least part of the allegations in separate court filings.

If St. Cloud’s family were to refer a complaint to the FBI, it would be at least the third referral in the civil case, according to the lawsuit, which states that the offices of Massachusetts Attorney General and the Suffolk County District Attorney are “investigating these criminal acts.”

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The AG’s office has previously said that it would not confirm, deny, nor comment on the existence of an investigation, while the Suffolk DA’s office said it doesn’t handle civil cases.

The lawsuit outlines a series of events where all relatives listed in the suit benefited from the “fraudulent scheme,” which deprived St. Cloud and his roughly 90-year-old life partner, Marthe Jeudi, of “record ownership of the property” and divested them of “hundreds of thousands of dollars in equity.”

Jeudi has “advanced mental deficiency due to Alzheimer’s” and resides in an assisted care facility. St. Cloud was listed as the record owner of the Dorchester home, 144 Fuller St., since March of 1989, and is now facing eviction proceedings in Massachusetts Land Court, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit states that on the same day Theodat obtained the “quitclaim deed fraudulently conveying the property to 144 Fuller LLC,” Boston Trust Finance LLC, a subsidiary of the private lender Boston Trust, granted a commercial mortgage and security agreement worth more than $2 million against the property to 144 Fuller LLC.

The mortgage secured by Theodat using 144 Fuller St. was used to secure the mortgage on 1806 Beacon St., a Waban home owned by Danny and Wayne Levy, “which had been foreclosed, then purchased at a subsequent foreclosure sale, by Theodat around the same time, the lawsuit states.

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The lawsuit is slowly making its way through the court system. The last docket movement was a motion to dismiss filed on March 28 by Theodat. The filing states St. Cloud “does not have the legal capacity to bring this action on his own behalf.”

“It was filed improperly and has no merit,” Arroyo said. “We intend to have an opposition filed through the proper channels to address that.”

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Boston, MA

Boston Fleet fall to Montreal in overtime

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Boston Fleet fall to Montreal in overtime


The Boston Fleet will have to wait to clinch a playoff spot.

The team had a chance to clinch a spot in the PWHL playoffs with a win on Monday against the Montréal Victoire, but fell in overtime on the road, 3-2. The Victoire scored two of their three goals on the power play.

Klára Peslarová made 33 saves on 36 shots faced for Boston, while Ann-Renée Desbiens made 27 stops on 29 shots faced for Montréal.

Laura Stacey scored the winning goal in the first overtime period for Montréal on even strength.

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Neither team scored in the first period. Jennifer Gardiner scored the first goal of the game, assisted by Abby Boreen and Catherine Dubois in the second period to put Montréal ahead.

The Victoire got on the board again early in the second period when Catherine Dubois scored her fifth goal of the season, assisted by Maureen Murphy and Anna Wilgren to make it 2-0.

Hannah Brandt and Hannah Bilka  came through for Boston later in the period, each scoring a goal within a minute of each other to tie the game at 2-2 and force an overtime period, but Stacey’s goal made the difference in the extra period.

Boston will go again on Saturday, May 3 against the Minnesota Frost at home at 1 p.m.



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Boston, MA

Jayson Tatum credits Boston Celtics rookie for unique celebration

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Jayson Tatum credits Boston Celtics rookie for unique celebration


ORLANDO — Jayson Tatum is battling through a painful bone bruise in his right wrist but the ailment has not slowed him down in two games since his return. The All-Star erupted for 37 points in Game 4 to help the Celtics take a commanding 3-1 lead over the Magic in their first round series.

Tatum has embraced Orlando’s physicality since his Game 2 absence, taking advantage of Magic’s desire to play him straight up by getting to the free throw line. He’s gone to the free throw line 26 times in the last two games, including a series-high 14 in Game 4.

“Just putting the pressure on,” Tatum said. “Playoffs presents a lot of different things. Each game is different, and I say it all the time. Sometimes you’ve just got to beat your matchup. Sometimes you’ve just got to be able to make a play for you or somebody else. And I think we did that pretty well tonight.”

It wasn’t the prettiest shooting night for Tatum, hitting just 10 of his 25 field goal attempts but his production was critical down the stretch as the visitors broke open a 91-91 tie with a 16-7 run to clinch the victory. Tatum scored nine of those points in the final four minutes despite taking a couple of hard hits to his wrists on Magic fouls.

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“Year after year,” Tatum said. “Just getting older, having more experience. Understanding the moment being in these moments plenty of times. Enjoying being in those moments. Not necessarily like take over the game, but being in a position where to just make a play. I say it all the time.

“For myself or a teammate, you just want to be in a position where you’re involved and you’ve got a part of the action or whatever when the game’s on the line. It was 91-91 with four minutes left, a timeout, I was excited for that moment because I knew we was going to figure out and make plays. It’s not just me. Everybody made plays. So we showed just our competitive spirit. That was fun.”

Tatum also tried to downplay the severe bone bruise he’s been battling through to help put Boston back in control for the series.

“It’s whatever. I know what I’m dealing with,” Tatum said. “My team knows how serious is, but it’s that time of year. We’re all sacrificing our bodies and doing through things. It’s the playoffs. I doubt anybody feels 100%, but you step on that floor, do what you can, give it your all. It’s all about trying to figure out how to win.”

Tatum has also used his wrist injury to debut a new celebration the past two games, which he credited rookie Baylor Scheierman for after the Game 4 win.

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“Shoutout to the rook, man, Baylor,” Tatum said. “He came up with the celebration when I hit a three. I think people are taking notice, and it’s a new thing for now.”

The Celtics will look to close out the series back in Boston on Tuesday night to avoid a trip back to Orlando. Tatum is confident he’ll be able to lean on his experience to earn some pivotal rest for Boston ahead of a likely second round showdown with the Knicks.

“Just understanding it’s my eighth year in the playoffs,” Tatum said. “I’ve played 115 some odd playoff games so I’ve been here before, I’ve been in these moments. Just stay composed and don’t get distracted by outside things or whatever. Just try to make the right read, focus on the next play, stay level-headed and, just do what you can, to help your team be in a position to get a win.”



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It's not your imagination, air quality in Boston is getting worse

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It's not your imagination, air quality in Boston is getting worse


Environment

A report from the American Lung Association shows that air quality has worsened in Boston, Worcester, and Providence.

Boston’s skyline Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff

Air quality in Boston is getting worse, according to a new report by the American Lung Association. 

As part of its “State of the Air” 2025 report, the American Lung Association reported that 46% of Americans live in places with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution. There are 25 million more people breathing what they call “unhealthy air” compared to last year’s report. 

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This is largely the result of extreme heat, drought, and wildfires, despite decades of successful efforts to reduce sources of air pollution. Eastern states were most recently impacted by a blanket of smoke from wildfires in Canada, which the report described as “unprecedented,” and this drove up levels of ozone and particle pollution. 

The Boston–Worcester–Providence metro area was ranked the 61st worst for high ozone days out of 228 metropolitan areas, 114th worst for 24-hour particle pollution out of 225 metropolitan areas, and 110th worst for annual particle pollution out of 208 metropolitan areas. 

Although all those levels are better than they were in the late 1990s, thanks in large part to the Clean Air Act, they have been on the rise since hitting lows a few years ago.

“Over the last decade, however, the findings of the report have added to the extensive evidence that a changing climate is making it harder to protect this hard-fought progress on air quality and human health,” the report said. 

Suffolk County received a C grade for high ozone days and a B grade for 24-hour particle pollution. 

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Many of Suffolk County’s 768,425 residents fall into one of the American Lung Association’s at-risk populations: 121,787 are under 18 and 106,606 are 65 and over; 78,242 adults and 7,148 children have asthma; 31,030 have COPD, 362 have lung cancer, and 37,206 are affected by cardiovascular disease. 

No Massachusetts counties earned “A” grades for either particle pollution or ozone grades. The full list of grades is below. 

Particle pollution grades:
Berkshire: D
Bristol: C
Essex: C
Franklin: D
Hampden: D
Hampshire: C
Middlesex: B
Norfolk: B
Plymouth: C
Suffolk: B
Worcester: C

Ozone grades:
Barnstable: C
Berkshire: B
Bristol: D
Dukes: C
Essex: C
Franklin: B
Hampden: C
Hampshire: B
Middlesex: B
Norfolk: D
Plymouth: C
Suffolk: C
Worcester: B





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