LITCHFIELD, CT – John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that KEVIN E. CREED, 69, of Litchfield, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 42 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for stealing approximately $1.4 million from a charity he organized.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Creed was an attorney who operated the Creed Law Firm in Bristol. The Fisher House Foundation is a national organization that builds comfort homes on the grounds of military and Veteran Affairs medical centers where military veterans and their families can stay for no cost while undergoing treatment at Veteran Affairs hospitals. In 2010, Creed established a charity called the Friends of Fisher House Connecticut, the purported purpose of which was to raise funds to support the building and maintenance of a Fisher House comfort home in West Haven.
Creed solicited donations for the Friends of Fisher House from corporations and individuals. He solicited funds at fairs, carnivals and supermarkets, and also held fundraising events, including the Bristol half-marathon and a 10-kilometer foot race, based on the representation that the money raised would support the construction and operation of the West Haven Fisher House. While Friends of Fisher House Connecticut made a $1 million donation in 2015 to assist with the financing of the construction of the Fisher House West Haven, Creed used his position to take approximately $1.4 million that had been raised for the organization and use it for both personal and law firm expenses.
Judge Hall ordered Creed to make full restitution.
On August 28, 2019, Creed pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
Creed, who is released on a $100,000 bond, is required to report to prison on February 10, 2021.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. McGarry.