Attorney Claudia Lagos Defends Alleged Boston One Fund Scammer

Alleged One Fund Boston scammer arraigned, pleads not guilty and is held on $30,000 cash bail

By Peter Schworm and John R. Ellement
Boston Globe Staff

With his mother looking on, the South End man accused of trying to scam One Fund Boston out of $2.2 million pleaded not guilty today to attempted larceny charges and was ordered held on $30,000 cash bail.

Branden Mattier was arraigned in Boston Municipal Court, where Assistant Attorney General Gina Masotta said Mattier was so anxious to get his hands on the money that he stationed himself at his Northampton Street home, intercepting delivery people as they approached. “You’re looking for me,” the 22-year-old Mattier allegedly told an undercover State Police trooper who was posing as a courier.

After Mattier signed paperwork confirming the receipt of the check, State Police arrested him and charged him with filing the claim on behalf of his aunt, who he claimed had underwent amputations as a result of being wounded during the Boston Marathon terror bombings. In fact, Masotta said, his aunt died 10 years ago.

should not be the reason cash bail should be imposed. “It’s clear that people are angry about this case,” Lagos said, but she added that Mattier has no adult record and only a minimal record as a juvenile. Those cases, she said, date back seven years. “He wants to fight this case and he wants to tell his story,” Lagos said. Masotta asked for $100,000 cash bail, calling Mattier a flight risk because he often travels in the United States and in Europe while performing as a musician. Judge Eleanor C. Sinnott set bail at $30,000 cash.

On June 7, Mettier submitted a claim on his aunt’s behalf that included a clumsy forgery that was supposed to have come from medical staff at the Boston Medical Center confirming that the aunt was a double amputee, according to court records. That request drew immediate suspicion at the One Fund charity, which then forwarded the information to Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office to investigate. Following his arrest, Mettier allegedly told State Police he was not planning to enrich himself with the money from the charity. “Mattier acknowledged that his aunt was deceased and went on to say that he filed the [One Fund Boston] claim because he felt he could provide help to people in his own neighborhood,” State Police said in a report filed in court. “The report added that “Mattier stated that he understood why we thought this would constitute an attempt to steal money from [One Fund Boston] but he did not agree as his intention was to help people.

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