A former South Shore real estate agent will be spending at least two years in prison after a change-of-plea hearing Wednesday.
In the Brockton Superior Court room, Stephen Webster, the former president of ‘Success! Real Estate,’ pleaded guilty to four indictments including fiduciary embezzlement, larceny of more than $1,200, witness intimidation, and publishing a false financial statement.
Prosecutors say the 63-year-old diverted over $11.5M dollars in client escrow funds into business and personal accounts, using the money to allegedly pay of debts and loans, and buy rental property in Florida.
Many of Webster’s victims were in court Wednesday, whether in person or virtually. Webster addressed them directly.
“You all have my assurance that when I get out, I am going to build another company, I don’t know what yet, but I am going to work day and night to make sure everyone get’s paid back in full,” Webster said.
Outside of court, Stacey Ballerino who worked closely with Webster, said she doesn’t believe that promise.
“He has been out of jail since the day he closed the business, which has been about a year and a half and not paid one single person I know one single dollar. I am owed more money than anyone that was in that company, I’ve not seen one dollar,” Ballerino said.
Assistant District Attorney with the Plymouth District Attorney’s office, Alexander Zane called these crimes “harmful,” while Webster’s attorney, James Caramanica called it “a series of bad business decisions.”
“The defendant’s crime was wide reaching and this crime was so harmful because it weaponizes trust in the exact moment people are financially exposed and when that trust is broken, the damage spreads beyond any single transaction,” Zane said.
“To be clear, these were his friends and colleagues, and I say that because no one will ever appreciate that these actions were made as a series of bad business decisions that were made over years. Not with malice or purposes of greed behind them, but to keep this business going so that he could he get out from behind that large rock that fell on him some years earlier,” Caramanica said.
The commonwealth requested 6-8 years in prison, while the defense suggested a split house of corrections sentence. Though ultimately the judge decided on a 2-3 years in prison with 5-years of probation.
“I’m disgusted that someone goes to jail for 2 years after stealing dozens of people’s savings,” Ballerino said. “You can do all that and lie to everyone and only get two years? Must be nice.”
Restitution payments will also be part of Webster’s sentence, though that will be determined at a later hearing.
Webster will be serving his sentence at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center.
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