Former Meriden and Groton Housing Authority Director Charged in $16.2 Million Loan Scheme
Federal prosecutors allege that Robert Cappelletti obtained the loan using unauthorized board documents and diverted some proceeds for personal expenses. He has pleaded not guilty.
CONNECTICUT, September 27, 2026 — The former executive director of the Meriden and Groton housing authorities has been charged with wire fraud and illegal monetary transactions in a federal case involving a $16.2 million loan.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut, a grand jury indicted Robert Cappelletti, 60, of Middlebury, on September 22. He was arrested September 24, pleaded not guilty, and was released on a $500,000 bond pending trial.
"Prosecutors allege he signed a loan guarantee without board approval and supplied fraudulent resolutions purporting to show the boards had authorized the transaction."
Prosecutors allege that Cappelletti obtained the loan in 2022 on behalf of Maynard Road Corporation, a nonprofit associated with the Meriden Housing Authority. They say he signed a loan guarantee on behalf of the housing authority without approval from either organization's board and supplied fraudulent resolutions purporting to show that the boards had authorized the transaction.
The lender transferred approximately $13.96 million after costs and fees, according to the indictment as described by prosecutors. They allege that Cappelletti later directed transactions that included about $450,000 deposited into his personal investment account and $374,752.87 paid toward the mortgage on his home.
Groton Housing Authority Funds Also Implicated
The indictment also alleges that Cappelletti directed payments from Groton Housing Authority funds toward the loan, although that authority was neither a borrower nor a guarantor. Prosecutors say he presented those payments as costs connected to a future development bond and used forged invoices to support them.
Questions About Oversight
The case raises questions about how the loan and subsequent payments were reviewed by the organizations involved. The charges, however, are allegations, not findings of guilt. Cappelletti is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The FBI and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General are investigating. The New England Voice will follow the court case and seek responses from the housing authorities about their financial controls and any effect on housing operations.