COVID Surge Delays Jail Time For Ex-Fall River Mayor Correia

BOSTON — Originally set to self-report to prison for the next six years starting Monday, former Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia has been given two more weeks of freedom, with the recent COVID-19 surge to thank.

Wednesday morning, U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock pushed Corriea's self-report date to Jan. 28, citing the current uptick in COVID-19 cases and its impact on the court and Bureau of Prisons.

"It would be improvident to place further strain on the operations of the criminal justice system generally to require self-reporting by criminal defendants ... to places of confinement designated by the Bureau of Prisons any earlier than Friday January 28, 2022," Woodlock said in his order.

Correia, now 30, who was convicted in May 2021, was found guilty of stealing money from investors of his startup while extorting thousands of dollars from marijuana businesses he said he had planned to open but never did.

Correia was set to report to prison on Dec. 3, 2021, but Woodlock granted him a request set up by Correia's defense attorneys to allow him to help his wife's family restaurant during the holidays, WPRI reported.

Correia's attorneys have filed a motion asking Woodlock to delay his prison sentence pending an appeal of his conviction, but Woodlock has yet to rule on that motion.

A jury originally found Correia guilty of 21 counts of wire fraud, filing false tax returns, and extortion. He was acquitted on three other counts, including extortion, but Woodlock tossed out 10 counts based on technicalities in the law, a decision the judge said did not affect the length of his sentence - six years in prison.

It is unclear where Correia will serve his time. The location of the prison is generally not made public until a defendant actually reports to the facility.

Correia was mayor of Fall River from 2016 to 2020.

The young mayor reluctantly stepped down in October 2019 after multiple investors accused him of defrauding them, pocketing nearly $230,000 from his start-up app SnoOwl, and taking bribes from marijuana companies while using the money to uphold his lavish lifestyle — spending most of it on cars and casinos.

More coverage: Fall River Mayor's 'Lavish Lifestyle' From Fraud: Federal Charges

Correia has insisted he's innocent since his 2018 arrest, blaming the accusations on his political opponents.

Correia was the youngest mayor elected in Fall River.

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