Former Massachusetts police officer indicted for wire fraud, allegedly defrauded three landlords

BOSTON — A former Massachusetts police officer has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston for allegedly concealing his history of evictions and using a family member’s credit report to obtain an apartment lease and then defrauding his landlord by intentionally withholding rent payments.

Robert Kennedy, 53, a former detective sergeant for the Stoneham Police Department, was indicted on two counts of wire fraud.

Kennedy resigned from the department on Feb. 23 following notice of an internal investigation into a history of civil claims against him, Town Administrator Dennis Sheehan and police Chief James McIntyre said in a joint statement. He had worked for the department since 2001.

Kennedy was previously arrested and charged by a criminal complaint with one count of wire fraud on March 31, 2023.

Kennedy, who earned as much as $187,000 per year, defrauded his last three landlords by providing “false and misleading information” on his rental applications and did not pay rent to take advantage of the slow eviction process, according to charging documents.

It is alleged that Kennedy defrauded his most recent landlord when he provided a relative’s date of birth and social security number for a required tenant screening service, which included a credit check and eviction history check.

The landlord relied on the information from the fraudulently obtained tenant screening report to approve Kennedy’s rental application and give Kennedy a lease for the apartment.

According to charging documents, it is further alleged that Kennedy immediately and intentionally violated the terms of the lease by giving the landlord bad checks for his rent and security deposit and failing to make subsequent rent payments.

Kennedy lived in the apartment for approximately four months without making rent payments and currently owes the landlord approximately $14,000 in overdue rent.

The charges of wire fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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