A Buckingham socialite known for her lavish lifestyle could spend the rest of her life in state prison after she was convicted Tuesday of filing nearly $13 million in false insurance claims following a 2013 fire at her family’s 10-acre estate.
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| Claire Risoldi |
After a 4-1/2 hour deliberation, the jury of 10 men and two women convicted Claire Risoldi, 71, on six of nine charges, finding she cheated insurer AIG out of $2.75 million it paid for false claims related to drapes and alternative living expenses, and she attempted to bilk the insurer out of another $10 million for a false claim on a separate jewelry policy.
“We disagree with the verdict,” her daughter, Carla Risoldi, said afterward. She and her brother Carl were present in the courtroom while the verdict was read.
The verdict came on the fourth anniversary of the death of Risoldi’s second husband, former Bucks County sheriff, Tom French, who completed suicide about a week after the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office filed charges against him and others in the insurance fraud scheme.
In the courtroom, Risoldi, who wore jeans and a black sweater with her trademark mirrored aviator sunglasses hanging from the neckline, had no apparent reaction as the guilty verdicts were announced.
Afterward, her attorney Jack McMahon expressed disappointment.
“We thought we put on a strong case,” he said.
During his weeklong defense presentation, McMahon called a series of witnesses including Carl Risoldi, 46, who is scheduled to go to trial next month on similar fraud charges stemming from the Oct. 22, 2013, fire claims. In his closing arguments Monday, McMahon tried to poke holes in the prosecution’s case suggesting the Attorney General’s Office and AIG had conspired against his client to thwart the $10 million jewelry claim payout.
On Tuesday, McMahon said it was too early to make any decisions about an appeal.
Also unclear Tuesday was the fate of a civil suit the family brought against AIG for denying as fraud the claim for $10 million in jewelry the family contends went missing after the 2013 fire at Clairemont, as the estate was known.
Following the verdict, Chester County Senior Judge Thomas Gavin, who oversaw the case, rejected a prosecution request to revoke bail after Risoldi said she does not have a valid passport.
Sentencing is expected to occur in 60 to 90 days. Risoldi could face a maximum of 60 years in state prison on top of a pending 30-day jail sentence for contempt in 2016 related to the fraud case. The AG’s office also will seek to recoup $2.75 million in restitution from family assets that were frozen in 2015, including Clairemont and three other homes the family bought with insurance proceeds and a fleet of exotic cars and cash.
Jurors found Risoldi guilty of dealings in unlawful proceeds, a felony that carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence, insurance fraud, theft by deception, criminal attempted theft by deception and conspiracy. All the guilty verdicts were related to 2013 claims, including the use of insurance proceeds earmarked for home rental while Clairemont was repaired, to buy three homes in Buckingham using a straw purchaser and holding company.
The jury found Risoldi not guilty on three counts of receiving stolen property related to jewelry claims filed in 1984, 1993 and 2002. Prosecutors had argued that Risoldi received insurance proceeds for pieces of jewelry she had previously reported stolen and received money for.
The verdict marked the second time that Risoldi has been convicted of fraud. She pleaded guilty in 1990 to two counts of federal mail fraud in U.S. District Court for using false medical documents to defraud her first husband’s union health insurance provider out of $13,028. She was sentenced to two years of probation.
Senior Deputy Attorney General Linda Montag, who acted as lead prosecutor in the case, praised the jury for their effort.
“They took their time with a decision,” she said.
About an hour into deliberations Tuesday, the jury asked to see evidence including copies of the family’s homeowners and jewelry policies as well as proof of loss receipts and invoices from Summerdale Mills, the company involved in the $2 million drape claims, and two pieces of a report prepared by a forensic auditor including a summary of the family’s income.
The verdict capped what had been a four-year odyssey that made national headlines in January 2015 when a grand jury handed down a 47–page indictment charging the family with funding an extravagant lifestyle using fraudulently obtained insurance proceeds and falsely accusing volunteer firefighters of stealing $10 million in jewelry after the third fire at the home.
Through their attorneys, the Risoldi family steadfastly denied the charges against them as politically motivated. The Risoldis were well known in the county for hosting lavish fundraisers, social events and political candidates, and their close political ties led to the entire Bucks County judicial bench recusing themselves from the case.
The case ping-ponged between Bucks County Court, the state Superior Court and most recently the U.S. District Court as the prosecution and defense filed motions seeking dismissals, contempt charges, bail revocations, release of seized family assets and additional criminal charges in the case, pushing back trial dates.
Other family members also were charged in the case were approved to enter special trial diversion programs for non-violent, first-time offenders that would give them an opportunity to expunge their criminal record. Two family associates had fraud-related charges against them dismissed.
The AG’s office had painted Claire Risoldi as the matriarch and mastermind of the insurance fraud scheme. In addition, she had been facing multiple witness intimidation charges that later were dropped. The grand jury report painted Risoldi as cunning and ruthless with a short fuse.
McMahon also characterized his client as a bawdy lady with expensive taste in jewelry who loves entertaining, sometimes uses colorful language and who will scream at someone one minute, then send them flowers to apologize an hour later.
Throughout her trial, Risoldi, dressed in neutral sweaters and slacks with winter boots, could be found handing out mints and gum to her family and supporters. Besides her sunglasses, her main accessory wasn’t jewelry, but a series of sparkle-infused knit hats that she got special permission to wear in court for an undisclosed medical condition.
Following closing arguments Monday night, Risoldi said that she had a publisher and was working on a book about her life.
When reporters approached her for a comment after the verdict Tuesday, McMahon yelled at his client to come over to him before she could comment.
Later, McMahon said his client was disappointed but accepted the verdict.
“Claire is doing fine,” he added.
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