Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
A couple from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, have been sentenced in federal court for defrauding their workers’ compensation insurance carriers, the Small Business Administration (SBA), and a mortgage lender. The sentencing took place in Boston.
Ronaldo Solano, 52, received a sentence of one year and one day in prison followed by two years of supervised release, with six months to be served under home detention. Adriana Solano, 41, was sentenced on June 23, 2025, to time served (one day) and will serve 27 months of supervised release with three months on home detention. Both were ordered to pay $1,625,872.03 in restitution jointly; Ronaldo Solano must pay an additional $627,675.88. In January 2025, Ronaldo Solano pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud as well as other fraud charges. Adriana Solano pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud. Their indictment by a federal grand jury occurred in March 2024.
From approximately 2012 through 2020, Ronaldo Solano operated H&R Roofing & Construction Inc. and H&R Roofing & Siding Corp., based in Framingham with his wife Adriana Solano. During this period he avoided more than $627,000 in workers’ compensation insurance premiums by underreporting payroll and paying workers through an uninsured third company.
Between about 2021 and 2022, the couple submitted a loan application on behalf of H&R Roofing & Siding Corp. for the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program—a relief effort under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. They requested $2 million in relief funds meant for working capital and other eligible business expenses but transferred $1 million into their personal account after receiving the funds. Over $825,000 of that money was used for a down payment on a luxury home in Hopkinton. The couple also borrowed $770,500 from a mortgage lender without disclosing that they were using EIDL funds for the down payment or listing it as an asset.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley said: “United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Field Office of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General made the announcement today.” She noted that valuable assistance came from the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts and that Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen A. Kearney is prosecuting the case.
The CARES Act was enacted on March 29, 2020 to provide emergency financial aid during the COVID-19 pandemic through programs such as EIDL loans administered by the SBA [https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus]. These loans are intended only for specific business expenses like payroll or accounts payable affected by COVID-19.
To address pandemic-related fraud nationwide—including cases like this—an interagency COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force was established on May 17, 2021 [https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus]. This task force investigates domestic and international actors responsible for pandemic fraud schemes.
This case was also investigated with help from the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Fraud Task Force [https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus], which coordinates oversight across agencies for COVID-19 response funds totaling over $5 trillion.
Anyone with information about possible COVID-19 related fraud can report it via phone at 866-720-5721 or online through the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Web Complaint Form [https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form].
