Former Streetsboro Mayor Candidate Charged in $900,000 Virgin Islands Fraud
Brett McClafferty, 37, was arrested in the U.S. Virgin Islands on charges including grand larceny and passing counterfeit checks totaling nearly $900,000.
Ex-Streetsboro Mayoral Candidate Faces $900,000 Fraud Charges in U.S. Virgin Islands
Brett M. McClafferty, 37, a former Streetsboro mayoral candidate, was arrested at his St. Thomas home on charges involving nearly $900,000 in alleged fraud, record-courier.com reports.
The U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department's Economic Crime Unit took McClafferty into custody. The United States Postal Service and the FBI cooperated in the investigation.
McClafferty is scheduled to be arraigned on March 13 in U.S. Virgin Islands Superior Court. He faces charges of grand larceny, passing or possession of forged bills, obtaining money or property by false pretenses, making and passing fictitious bills and notes, and drawing and delivering worthless checks, according to court records.
Investigation Triggered by Bank Complaint
The Economic Crime Unit opened the investigation in June 2024 after Banco Popular de Puerto Rico filed a complaint alleging that McClafferty had deposited counterfeit and fraudulent checks drawn from entities in the British Virgin Islands. The bank further alleged that he issued drafts from his Discover account that were later subject to stop-payment requests or returned for insufficient funds.
Investigators determined that funds had been withdrawn and wired to third parties before the financial instruments were returned unpaid. The investigation identified 12 fraudulent transactions totalling approximately $888,500, conducted through McClafferty's business and personal accounts.
Banco Popular reported a confirmed financial loss exceeding $80,000. Several counterfeit checks originating from the British Virgin Islands were flagged before funds could be withdrawn, preventing additional losses.
An arrest warrant was issued December 30, the same day the case was filed in court. Bail was set at $150,000.
Prior Criminal History and Political Career
McClafferty ran for mayor of Streetsboro in 2011, losing to current Mayor Glenn Broska. He also ran unsuccessfully in 2007, at age 19, and sought Streetsboro City Council and Portage County commissioner seats on separate occasions.
In 2018, a Portage County jury convicted McClafferty of forgery and theft stemming from the forgery of several checks totalling $3,200. Judge Becky Doherty sentenced him to two years in prison. In total, he received more than 3.5 years across that case and additional convictions for passing bad checks in Trumbull and Geauga counties, theft and drug possession in Summit County, and theft in Cuyahoga County.
Dismissed Lawsuit Over Alleged Jail Abuse
McClafferty was among 23 former inmates who alleged abuse at the Portage County Jail, including beatings by staff, freezing conditions, and denial of medical care. The Portage County Sheriff's Office, the Lake County Sheriff's Office, and the FBI investigated the complaints.
The Portage County Prosecutor's Office concluded in July 2020 that, in all but one case, the allegations were false. In the single incident found to have merit — occurring in November 2013 — the corrections officer resigned before the sheriff could take disciplinary action.
The prosecutor's office stated that eight of the complaints had been drafted by McClafferty on behalf of fellow inmates while he was held at the Lake Erie Correctional Facility. Several of those inmates subsequently retracted their complaints.
McClafferty and another former inmate filed federal lawsuits, both of which were ultimately dismissed. U.S. Sixth District Judge Benita Y. Pearson wrote in her 56-page memorandum: "Here, there is clear and convincing evidence that [Brett M. McClafferty] filed the case at bar in bad faith and for improper purposes." An appeal of the dismissal was also unsuccessful.
In a December 2021 email to the Record-Courier, McClafferty wrote: "…I am living a very prosperous life in the U.S. Virgin Islands and am eager to move on from a very dark period of time in my life for which I was severely mistreated by Portage County."
Source: Google News VG — Crime