East Greenwich woman sentenced to 8 years after stealing millions from friends and family

EAST GREENWICH, R.I. (WLNE) – An East Greenwich woman will serve eight years in prison after  swindling millions from her friends and family.

Monique Brady, 45, pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and obstruction of an IRS investigation back in July.

A judge sentenced her to eight years in prison and to pay back the money she stole Tuesday morning.

Brady duped family members, friends, and business associates as she operated a $10.3 million Ponzi scheme to help finance an extravagant lifestyle, according to the U.S Attorney’s Office.

Some of that extravagant lifestyle included a $1 million home, luxury items like her collection of Louis Vuitton shoes, numerous expensive trips abroad, and multiple trips to the Super Bowl.

“This was a particularly troubling and reprehensible case,” said Assistant United States Attorney Lee Vilker.

Brady’s company, MNB, specialized in preserving the condition of foreclosed homes for resale.

As part of her scheme, Brady told investors that her company had secured contracts to perform “large scale rehabilitation projects on foreclosed properties in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.”

But most of the properties didn’t exist.

“The lies and betrayal is very difficult,” said victim Kim Savastano outside court Tuesday.

MNB was hired by banks to perform tasks such as mowing grass, changing locks, winterizing properties, boiler or electrical inspections, and snow removal. 

The majority of projects secured by MNB were for less than $1,000. Many were for as little as $25 to a few hundred dollars, according to officials.

“We don’t have many cases where the victims are so close to the defendant,” said Vilker.

On Tuesday, five different victims gave emotional statement about how crushed they were by Brady’s betrayal. 

“She was one of my best friends,” said victim Robert Roth.

Brady also read out a letter before the judge apologizing to her victims. Most of the victims were content with Brady’s sentence.

“I think there’s no years that you could put into action for the hurt that we all feel,” said Savastano.

Prosecutors say they hope the sentence will give the victims some type of closure.

©WLNE-TV/ABC6 2020