Grad accused of faking death to void loans
David Michael Venezia wanted himself dead.
So, according to federal prosecutors, the 37-year-old Charlestown resident did what a few college graduates with $23,000 in student loans would do. He killed himself - on paper.
Federal prosecutors said in a civil complaint filed this week that Venezia, who owns a Charlestown condo, a boat, and a Cadillac, filed a fake death certificate to avoid creditors. His alleged deceit was hatched between 1982 and 1989 while he attented Brandeis University, Northeastern University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He earned a bachelor's degree from Brandeis and a master's from MIT, thanks in large part to a $23,000 student loan from the former Boston Five Cents Savings Bank.
Prosecutors say Venezia, who is charged in criminal and civil complaints, landed a job as a project civil engineer at the Army's Natick Labs, but continued to defer payment of his student loan because he told federal loan officers that he was unemployed.
He also owed MIT about $3,500, but didn't make any payments, according to prosecutors. So on June 22, 1990, MIT officials declared Venezia's account in default. About two weeks later, prosecutors said, MIT officials received a telephone call from someone claiming to be Michael Venezia. He had bad news: David had been killed in car accident.
Prosecutors said MIT sent a condolence card to the family several days later - along with a letter seeking a death certificate to erase his debt. Michael Venezia, who this time identified himself as David's brother, wrote back and listed the date of Venezia's death as July 1, 1989. But he never included a death certificate.
In December 1990, MIT officials sent another letter to Michael Venezia, but go no response.
At the same time, prosecutors said, MIT officials learned from Brandeis officials that deduction had been made from Venezia's Army paychecks to make delinquent payments owed the school - a clear indication that the alleged dead man was still alive.
For the next two years, starting in February 1991, federal prosecutors say, MIT officials and Venezia corresponded about his delinquent student account until, in March 1993, MIT received a personal check for $3,500 to clear his debt.
But during that period, Massachusetts death certificate No. 006398 was submitted to the federal government to discharge $23,000 in student loans owed by Venezia, according to the civil complaint. The certificate stated that Venezia died on May 25, 1991, in a motorcycle accident in Canton. However, investigators went to the state Registry of Vital Statistics and discovered that the certificate number belonged to a woman. The complaint did not state who submitted the certificate to the federal government.
Venezia could not be reached for comment last night.
A criminal complaint charged Venezia with making false statements. He faces civil charges of violating the federal False Claims Act.
Venezia was arrested on Jan. 9 and was released Tuesday on $10,000 cash bail after prosecutors failed to have his assets frozen.
Venezia, who also uses the names of David Michaels and Fred St. Fort, currently works for the National Parks Service, according to the federal complaint. Investigators found that Venezia recently bought a Charlestown condominium for $97,000, drives a 1989 red Cadillac Allante, and owns a 26-foot Bayliner pleasure boat.
He is also alleged to operate three related businesses - East Coast Productions Ltd., Modeling Productions, and International Cover Model Search - with locations in Boston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.
In the criminal complaint, prosecutors allege that Venezia attended a dual master's degree program at Boston University in 1997 and received scholarship funds from the Army. At the same time, and unbeknownst to the Army, Venezia had received two merit scholarships totaling $13,000.
The funds went directly to BU, but they totaled more than the tuition cost, so BU issued Venezia a $17,000 refund check, prosecutors say. The false statement charge stems from allegations by prosecutors that Venezia lied on the form he signed to receive the Army scholarship by stating that he was not receiving any other financial assistance.
Boston Globe 01/17/2002