New Jersey Man Sentenced in Fraud Case 

PIERRE, S.D. - Attorney General Larry Long said that Joseph V. Grandi, 58, Manalapan, NJ, was sentenced in Sturgis on December 16, in 4th Circuit Court, for 2 felony counts of Theft by Deception. Grandi received ten years on each count, with five years suspended for each. He was also ordered to pay nearly $600,000 in restitution to his customers.

A Meade County grand jury indicted Grandi in August on eight counts of theft by deception. These charges stemmed from Grandi’s transactions in a housing factory that he owned. Grandi admitted that he used progress payments from customers to meet operating expenses and then fell behind in the building process. 

The case was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office and investigated by the Division of Criminal Investigation, the Consumer Protection Division, and the Meade County Sheriff’s Office. 

-30-