WHITE PLAINS – A Lititz, Pennsylvania man was sentenced in federal court on Thursday to 50 months in prison for conspiracy, mail fraud, money-laundering and making false statements in a loan application.
Robert Lees, 62, was found guilty by a jury in May after a seven-day trial.
Lees, a senior executive at Universal Forest Products, defrauded the
Department of Urban Development and a mortgage lending company, causing
millions of dollars in losses. The scam included over-inflated bids
for construction work with kickbacks.
In 2009, Lees had responsibility with a subsidiary of United Forest, which was to be the contractor on Vineyard Commons, a senior housing community in Highland, responsible for framing and rough carpentry.
Lees was also ordered to forfeit $865,000 in ill-gotten gains and to pay $865,000 in restitutions.
Lees’ co-defendants have been convicted. Michael Barnett pled guilty to conspiracy and was sentenced to 37 months in prison. Kevin DiCello pled guilty in April to conspiracy, mail fraud, money laundering and making false statements in a loan application and is scheduled to be sentenced in January.
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