A former detective sergeant for the Stoneham Police Department pleaded guilty Wednesday to defrauding three landlords, according to the US Attorney’s office for Massachusetts.
Robert Kennedy, 54, of Stoneham, pleaded guilty in US District Court in Boston to two counts of wire fraud in connection with a pattern of providing misleading information in rental applications, and then intentionally withholding rent payments, the office said in a statement.
Kennedy then took advantage of slow eviction processes in order to live rent-free, despite making $141,000 - $187,000 a year from the Stoneham Police Department, the statement said.
Kennedy had defrauded his most recent landlord by providing a family member’s date of birth and social security number instead of his own for a rental application, which concealed his history of collections, delinquent payments, defaults and evictions, prosecutors said.
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He then failed to pay his security deposit or rent for the four months he lived there, and currently owes the landlord approximately $14,000, according to the statement.
Kennedy was arrested in March 2023 and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2023.
Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 4, 2024.
The charges of wire fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
Grace Gilson can be reached at grace.gilson@globe.com.