Town of Dighton holds emergency meeting after police chief arrested on fraud charges
DIGHTON, Mass. (WLNE) – The town of Dighton held an emergency meeting in the Old Town Hall to address Police Chief Shawn Cronin’s alleged engagements in a $2.2 million insider trading scheme.
Leonard Hull, a member of the Dighton Board of Selectmen said, “Chief of police Shawn Cronin is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an administrative investigation.”
Cronin admitted to police Thursday that he had been involved in an insider trading scheme since 2020.
Court documents charged Cronin and three other men, one of which was vice president of a pharmaceutical company that was scheduled to be acquired by a larger company in April of 2020.
The group made more than $2 million trading stocks illegally.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is still investigating and documents said Cronin is facing the following charges:
- Three counts of securities fraud under Title 15
- Three counts of tender offer fraud
- One count of securities fraud under Title 18
- One count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and tender offer fraud
Cronin was appointed chief of police just last year after serving the department for nearly two decades.
Peter Caron, Chairman of the Board who led Thursday night’s emergency meeting, said he feels for the family during this confusing time.
“He is innocent until proven guilty, we are just devastated for him,” he said.
Sgt. George Nichols was appointed to serve as the interim chief as an internal investigation is conducted.
Town officials told ABC 6 News they first learned about the allegations Thursday afternoon. When asked about a timeline for their internal investigation, Dighton police did not have an answer available.
