No comment from Treasurer Mike Pieciak’s office

By Michael Donoghue, Vermont News First

A Connecticut man pleaded not guilty in federal court in Burlington on Thursday to defrauding the office of the Vermont State Treasurer out of nearly $475,000.

Cirt F. Lindsay, 42, of Bridgeport is charged with using both mail and wire fraud to steal $467,067 from the Unclaimed Property Division for the State Treasurer’s Office, according to the federal indictment.

The indictment said Lindsay conspired with others to trick the office into forwarding him a check for $467,067 that was intended for a former Essex Junction man now living in Florida. By August 2022 Lindsay and others had spent all but $5,300, the indictment said.

Vermont State Treasurer Michael Pieciak of Winooski has not responded in recent days to multiple phone and text messages or emails about the fraud case. No live person was answering the phone at the State Treasurer’s Office.

Democrat Beth Pearce was State Treasurer in 2022, but chose not to run again.

Lindsay and his lawyer, Assistant Federal Defender H. Samuel Ansell, declined comment to Vermont News First as they left the federal courthouse following the arraignment on Thursday.

During the court hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Nolan said there was an estimated 1,500 pages of discovery, bank records, witness statements, 10 recordings and a search warrant for the defense to review.

Ansell asked for 90 days to investigate the case and consider possible pre-trial motions. Federal Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle set a Jan. 21 deadline.

The former Essex Junction man, who is identified in court papers only as “J.W.,” never made a claim for the money nor authorized anybody to make a claim, the indictment said. He also did not know Lindsay or that he had opened an unknown business with him, it said.

The indictment, following an FBI investigation, seeks Lindsay to forfeit any proceeds from the fraud that may remain.

A federal grand jury in Burlington indicted Lindsay on Sept. 18 and court records were ordered sealed until he was arrested. The FBI said he was picked up Oct. 1 in Bridgeport, Conn.

A federal magistrate judge in U.S. District Court in New Haven, Conn. agreed to release Lindsay on a $50,000 unsecured bond with the understanding he would appear in Burlington for his arraignment this week.

The Vermont State Treasurer’s office had kept the $467,067 safely from late 2021 through 2022, the indictment said. The source of the unclaimed money was never identified in court papers.

Lindsay conspired with others, known and unknown to the grand jury, to develop a scheme to obtain money and property from the Vermont Unclaimed Property website, the indictment said. The plan was part of the conspiracy to submit claims in the names of individuals with unclaimed property, it said.

Lindsay met at his home with at least one other person and a list of potential targets in Vermont were identified, the indictment said.

One of the co-conspirators registered bogus business names with the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office in both January and March 2022, the indictment said.

A co-conspirator eventually made a claim, and a check was sent to “J.W.,” but it was never received because he had moved from Essex Junction to Florida, the indictment said.

Lindsay somehow ended up with the check, court records note.

He opened a bank account in “J.W.’s” name at a People’s United Bank in Trumbull, Conn. about April 1, 2022, the indictment said. It noted the address was connected to Lindsay’s home in Bridgeport, Conn.

Lindsay and others often communicated through encrypted messaging applications, including WhatsApp and Telegram, the indictment said.

Doyle, during the hearing Thursday, agreed to continue Lindsay on release pending trial.

The judge restricted Lindsay’s travel to the states of Connecticut and New York for work and to Vermont for court. Doyle also ordered Lindsay to refrain from any new crimes and said any illegal drug use, including marijuana would be a violation of his release conditions.

During the hearing Lindsay, who said he was a graduate of a four-year college, asked for a lawyer at taxpayer expense. After reviewing a financial affidavit, Doyle said he was eligible.

The Vermont Unclaimed Property Division collects uncashed pay checks, unrefunded security deposits, stocks, mutual funds, items from safe deposit boxes, retirement accounts and other lost property deposited with the state.