In a ruling published on Monday, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a series of challenges to former Fall River Mayor Jasiel Corriea's 2021 trial, concluding that the 30-year-old was “fairly tried and lawfully convicted by an impartial jury.”found guilty by jurors in Boston federal court
The judge later tossed several wire fraud and false tax returns convictions that he said prosecutors failed to prove. Corriea remains convicted of multiple counts of fraud, extortion conspiracy and extortion. He reported to prison in April Prosecutors told jurors that in reality Corriea funded his lavish lifestyle with money he stole from investors who pumped cash into his startup, “SnoOwl," an app designed to help businesses connect with consumers.
Correia's lawyers challenged, among other things, prosecutors' use of a video clip from a 2015 mayor's race debate in which Correia promised taxpayers that he would take their money and and"spend it wisely” — as he said he had done in his business.