Bruce Spinney Grafton, Massachusetts, arrested for fraud – NBC Boston

Lina Portman4 weeks ago

1 1 minute read

A former city official in Grafton, Massachusetts, has been arrested on fraud charges, accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from investors for a marijuana business and instead spending the money to pay off debts of another company.

Bruce W. Spinney, III, 49, was charged Thursday with three counts of wire fraud and one count of illegal monetary transaction, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts. The charges are related to what prosecutors described as a scheme to defraud investors in a marijuana dispensary business.

Officials said Spinney resigned as chairman of the Grafton Select board in August 2019. Afterward, he secured hundreds of thousands of dollars for his new business, a marijuana dispensary called Noble Manna , Inc.

Before incorporating the marijuana company, Spinney ran an equipment and linen rental business called Spinney Enterprises, which was in debt. Prosecutors allege that instead of using his investors' money to install and license the Noble Manna locations in Grafton and Mendon as suggested, he used the money to pay off his prior debts to Spinney Enterprises.

Investigators say he paid debt collectors and unpaid business loans, as well as made cash withdrawals and paid personal expenses. He is also accused of illegally transferring $27,000 worth of money to pay a debt.

Spinney was arrested Friday and released on conditions after his appearance in federal court in Worcester. He faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine for each electronic counting fraud. The illegal monetary transaction charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison, two years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.