Quincy Real Estate Broker Sentenced for Real Estate Deposit Scam

Defendant stole approximately $1.8 million in deposit checks including for properties not for sale

BOSTON - A Quincy real estate broker was sentenced in federal court in Boston today for operating a scheme in which he falsely marketed properties that were not for sale, or had already been sold, and then stole the buyers' real estate deposits.

Michael P. Flavin, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release. The Court reserved imposing a restitution order until a later date. On Dec. 17, 2021, Flavin pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

Between 2017 and April 2020, Flavin solicited deposits on real estate transactions by marketing numerous real estate properties that were not actually for sale. In each case, Flavin executed purchase and sale agreements and received deposit checks from or on behalf of the potential buyers, even though the actual owners of the properties had not agreed to sell their properties or to sell them to those buyers. Flavin forged the signatures of the sellers on the purported purchase and sale agreements. Over this period of approximately three years, Flavin cashed more than 60 deposit checks totaling approximately $1.8 million.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor A. Wild of Rollins' Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.