A federal jury has found a Plymouth businessman guilty of pocketing Covid relief funds he received after lying about a previous fraud conviction.
Joseph Kerrissey, 49, who owned several construction companies in town, allegedly submitted three fraudulent paycheck protection loan applications for his businesses worth more than $43,000.
He was convicted June 18 of three counts of wire fraud between July 2020 and April 2021. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 16. Each count carries the potential of up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
His lawyer, Kevin Reddington, declined comment. Kerrissey is planning to appeal the verdict, according to court documents.
Federal prosecutors alleged Kerrissey swore on his loan applications he had not been convicted of a felony involving fraud within the previous five years and he was not on probation for a conviction.
In fact, he was on probation stemming from prior fraud-related felony convictions in state court.
In June 2018, Kerrissey, whose companies include JDHE Holding LLC, JK Snow Management LLC, and Sunrise Equipment and Excavation Inc., pled guilty to 107 charges brought by the Massachusetts attorney general including larceny and wage and hour violations.
He was ordered to pay his employees $91,743 in restitution and was sentenced to three years’ probation — which ended in 2021.
At the time, then Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said Kerrissey “for years… refused to pay his workers and took intentional steps to make it impossible for them to obtain their wages.
“With this sentence, he is held accountable for this criminal scheme and will pay full restitution to the former employees he exploited,” Healey said.
When he applied for paycheck protection loans in 2020 and 2021, he was still on probation on those state charges, federal prosecutors allege.
As part of the required backup documentation, prosecutors allege, Kerrissey submitted fraudulent income tax forms — forms he did not file with the Internal Revenue Service.
He also was required to answer two questions:
“Has an owner of the company ever been indicted or arraigned, jailed or placed on probation?”
And: “Has an owner of the company ever been convicted of any felony involving fraud, bribery or embezzlement?”
The applications stated if the answer to either question is “yes,” the loan would be denied.
Kerrissey falsely answered “no” to both questions, federal prosecutors alleged.
His lawyers argued he had not intended to defraud lenders, and the meaning of “felony involving fraud” was confusing and ambiguous. He said he relied on guidance from lenders.
His loan applications also contained false payroll expenses and business income, backed up by fabricated tax returns, prosecutors alleged. He argued he was unsure which tax documents were required.
Federal prosecutors alleged Kerrissey transferred much of the money from business accounts into his personal bank account and personal brokerage and investment accounts after he received the funds.
Covid relief funds were intended to help small businesses and individuals survive the pandemic.
But the money was doled out with few safeguards, and losses from Covid relief fraud have been estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars, according to recent federal estimates.
As of April 2025, U.S. authorities had criminally charged more than 3,000 people, businesses and organized fraud groups, the US Office of Government Accountability said.
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.