ENFIELD, CT — The former executive director of the Enfield Community Development Corporation (ECDC) was sentenced Tuesday to five months in prison, nearly two and a half years after pleading guilty in federal court to a conspiracy offense related to his theft of government funds.
Darrin LaMore, 49, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson to the prison term, followed by three years of supervised release. The judge also ordered LaMore to serve the first five months of supervised release in home confinement with electronic monitoring, according to John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
According to court documents and statements made in court, LaMore was the executive director of the ECDC, a nonprofit corporation that oversees economic development projects in Enfield, primarily in the Thompsonville section of the town. The ECDC is supported with federal funds administered by the state of Connecticut, Durham said.
From June 2012 to Oct. 2015, LaMore funded his salary with those federal grants well in excess of the portion of the grants that was allowed to be used for salary. He also obtained additional funds to pay his salary by falsifying invoices from vendors, and by submitting vendor invoices to the state for reimbursement when, in fact, he had never paid the invoices, Durham said.
Through this scheme, LaMore took $97,854.34. Judge Thompson ordered LaMore to pay full restitution to the town of Enfield and the State Department of Economic and Community Development, Durham said.
LaMore was arrested on a criminal complaint on Feb. 16, 2018. On March 16, 2018, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and theft from a program receiving federal funds, Durham said.
Free on a $25,000 bond, LaMore is required to report to prison Jan. 5, 2021.
