FALL RIVER, Mass. — Disgraced former Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia is scheduled to be released from federal prison on Saturday after serving more than four years of a six-year sentence for fraud and extortion convictions.
Correia was convicted in 2021 on charges that he defrauded investors and extorted hundreds of thousands of dollars from marijuana companies seeking to do business in Fall River.
Federal prosecutors said Correia used his position as mayor to pressure cannabis businesses into making payments and investments that personally benefited him.
Correia insisted after his 2018 arrest that he was innocent and blamed the charges on his political foes he claimed wanted to bring him down.
Correia served as mayor of Fall River from 2016 until 2020. He was first elected in 2015 at just 23 years of age.
A judge ultimately dismissed 10 of 21 charges against Correia, leaving 11 convictions to stand.
Once considered a rising political star, Correia’s dramatic fall from power became one of Massachusetts’ most high-profile corruption cases
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