Kirkland Contractor Joseph D. Bergevin Sentenced to Four Years for Wire Fraud, Ordered to Pay $4 Million in Restitution

A 59-year-old Kirkland contractor, Joseph D. Bergevin, has been sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud charges, these charges arise from his scheme to defraud over two dozen clients using fraudulent invoices, as detailed in official court documents; U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead highlighted the distressing impact on the victims during the sentencing hearing, with the straightforward declaration, “You stole their futures, you stole their hope, you stole their momentum for success… you created the kind of stress that you can’t run from, the stress that wakes you up at night,” according to the

U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The fraudulent activity orchestrated by Bergevin was executed between 2016 and 2019 during his time as a general contractor on various home remodeling projects; he abused his position to swindle money by fabricating invoices for subcontractor services – sometimes appealing to the customers to pay “up front” under the pretense of securing lower rates, which never materialized, and resulted in the victims incurring debts and depleting savings in the vain pursuit of completing their builds, as noted in the

press release

.

Many of Bergevin’s victims were from close-knit communities, including his church, his children’s school, and the elderly. One victim stated, “The amount of money Bergevin stole from us is nearly unthinkable. He stole more than an entire year’s salary from me. [Bergevin] not only stole our entire life savings but induced us to borrow money and take on credit card debt in order to keep our build going. He literally took from us more than all of the money we had,” as reported by the

U.S. Attorney’s Office

.

As the details of his deceptive practices were revealed, it was shown that Bergevin lived a lifestyle that contrasted with those he victimized, including building a dream house, acquiring luxury vehicles and boats, and participating in church and community activities, “these are the very experiences he robbed from us,” one victim expressed in court. Their situation was presented before the judicial system, which aimed to provide them with justice, as per the details from the

U.S. Attorney’s Office

.

In accordance with the plea agreement, Bergevin was ordered to pay restitution around the sum of $4 million, a figure agreed upon by all parties to cover the totality of losses induced by his fraudulent actions; along with the FBI, the Kirkland Police Department and the King County Sheriff’s Office were instrumental in the investigation, leading to the prosecution by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Dion and Yunah Chung.

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