Prison for Fall River man who cheated his friends
A Fall River man has been sentenced to up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to cheating friends and neighbors out of thousands of dollars.
Joseph Pereira was also sentenced Thursday to five years of probation and ordered to make restitution after pleading guilty to 13 counts of larceny and one count of practicing law without a license.
Prosecutors say the 46-year-old Pereira offered to help friends, took their money, but rarely did anything.
One man told The Herald News that he lost $30,000 to Pereira. Prosecutors say in another case Pereira accepted a $5,000 down payment as part of the sale of a gas station. Pereira did not own the station and it was not for sale.
His lawyer agreed to the plea bargain.
