Fugitive in Larceny Scheme Returned to Middlesex County

WOBURN – Middlesex County District Attorney Marian T. Ryan and Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian have announced that Timothy Richard, 31, of Lake Worth, Florida, was returned to the Commonwealth on Monday, July 18, by the Middlesex Sheriff’s Warrant Apprehension Unit after failing to appear in Middlesex Superior Court as part of an open criminal case against him. On Tuesday, a Middlesex Superior Court grand jury handed down an indictment of the defendant on the charge of failure to appear.

Richard was arraigned on January 11, 2016, and charged with larceny over $250 and conspiracy. At arraignment, bail was set at $10,000 cash, which the defendant posted, and he was ordered to return for future court hearings from Florida; however he did not appear. On Tuesday, July 19, the defendant was brought back to Middlesex Superior Court where Clerk Magistrate Michael Sullivan accepted the Commonwealth’s recommendation that a new bail be set at $100,000 cash.

The next scheduled hearing in this case is Tuesday, August 2.

“The partnership that exists between the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office and the Middlesex Sheriff’s Warrant Apprehension Unit is an excellent example of the difference that collaborative law enforcement makes,” said District Attorney Ryan. “Such collaborations are critical to accomplishing our shared mission of protecting public safety and apprehending wanted fugitives.”

“A key responsibility of the Warrant Apprehension Unit is to work in collaboration with the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners to ensure those seeking to avoid prosecution are safely and securely returned to the Commonwealth,” said Sheriff Koutoujian.  “Working in conjunction with DA Ryan’s office, we have ensured this defendant will answer to the charges against him.”

Beginning in September of 2014, the defendant is alleged to have engaged in a scheme where the defendant produced false documents indicating that he was involved in a business partnership with Groupon and authorized through the company to purchase Apple iPhone and iPad charging cables from a manufacturer in China at a discounted price for sale in the United States. The defendant then allegedly sought an investment from a Cambridge man for startup capital for the business under the guise that the defendant has personally invested some of his own money in the business. The investor wired $102,000 to the defendant’s account which the defendant allegedly kept for his own personal purchases.

These charges are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The prosecutor assigned to this case is Assistant District Attorney Doug Cannon.

Individuals with information regarding wanted fugitives within Middlesex County may contact the Warrant Apprehension Unit at (617) 682-4817.