Charlemagnes, Richardson Plead Not Guilty to New Charges, Cases Still Proceeding Separately

Three people arrested in June in connection with an alleged multimillion-dollar disaster recovery fraud pleaded not guilty to new charges brought by federal prosecutors during arraignments Thursday morning on St. Croix.

The charges followed a two-year federal investigation into a contract to manage and store lumber earmarked for disaster recovery projects, which prosecutors say was improperly awarded and executed. The original indictment that a federal grand jury returned against the trio charged former V.I. Education Department Maintenance Director Davidson Charlemagne with government program fraud and wire fraud. Both he and his wife, Sasha, were charged with money laundering conspiracy, and Darin Richardson — former chief operating officer at the V.I. Housing Finance Authority — was charged with criminal conflict of interest and making material false statements to a federal agent.

Prosecutors in October charged the Charlemagnes with eight counts of making false claims against the United States in a superseding indictment. A second superseding indictment, filed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday, added a charge of wire fraud against Sasha Charlemagne and charges of bank fraud, making a false statement on a loan or credit application, and money laundering against Richardson. No additional charges were filed against Davidson Charlemagne.