Fraud Friday — Family Affair: Man and Sister-in-Law Plead Guilty in $19 Million Real Estate Loan Fraud Scheme

April 25, 2025

Bob Coleman
Founder & Publisher

Fraud Friday: Family Affair: Man and Sister-in-Law Plead Guilty in $19 Million Real Estate Loan Fraud Scheme

In a tangled web of deceit spanning Massachusetts and Connecticut, a husband, wife, and sister-in-law have been caught orchestrating a massive $19 million loan fraud conspiracy. The scheme, which unraveled this week, involved forged lease agreements and fraudulent rent rolls to dupe commercial real estate lenders.

Between May 2016 and November 2018, the conspirators fraudulently obtained or attempted to obtain approximately $60,123,000 in loans, causing a staggering total loss of $19,305,473 to financial institutions and commercial lenders.

The scheme involved providing false financial information, including forged lease agreements and fraudulent rent rolls, for properties in Springfield and East Longmeadow, MA, and Enfield, CT. After securing the loans, the defendants made minimal or no payments before defaulting, leaving lenders with substantial losses.

Louis R. Masaschi, 59, of Longmeadow, MA, pleaded guilty on April 22, 2025, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. His wife and alleged co-conspirator, Jeanette Norman, was indicted alongside him in April 2023 but has pleaded not guilty with a trial pending in October 2025.

In a related case, Christine Gendron, 59, of Feeding Hills, MA – Norman’s sister – agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Gendron, a certified public accountant, served as Financial Manager for JLL Realty Developers LLC, one of the many limited liability companies through which the trio operated their fraudulent scheme.

Source: DOJ