Christine Gendron, 61, of Agawam, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The plea was tendered last Friday (June 13) in Springfield’s federal courthouse.
According to a statement by the U.S. District Attorney’s Office,
Gendron was a certified public accountant who worked as the Financial Manager for JLL Realty Developers, LLC (JLLRD), a limited liability company for which her sister, Jeanette Norman, and brother-in-law, [Louis] Masaschi, served as partners. Masaschi and, allegedly Norman, were partners in dozens of limited liability companies, including JLLRD, through which they owned primarily commercial and some residential property in Western Massachusetts, Connecticut and elsewhere. Gendron conspired with Masaschi, and allegedly Norman, to defraud various financial institutions and a commercial lender.
Specifically, Masaschi, Gendron, and allegedly Norman, provided materially false, fictitious and fraudulent financial information, including false rent rolls and forged lease agreements, to obtain loans for their companies. After receiving the loans, Masaschi, and allegedly Norman and their companies made some or no payments and ultimately defaulted on the loans, causing substantial losses to the financial institutions and commercial lenders totaling more than $19 million.
Gendron’s sentencing is scheduled for September 30, 2025. The crime of conspiracy to commit bank fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in federal prison.