A Foxboro real estate developer who allegedly took thousands of dollars in advance payments for new, single-family homes that were never completed, has repaid more than $525,000 to affected homebuyers, and has been permanently required to protect any future consumer deposits, according to the Attorney General’s office.
The consent judgment, entered Thursday in Suffolk Superior Court, settles allegations against Michael Intoccia of Foxboro, and his former companies Bella Estates Realty Trust, MTI Realty, Intoccia Builders Corporation and Intoccia Development Corp., for taking large deposits from consumers upon contracting for the construction and sale of new homes, failing to complete the promised homes by the contractual deadlines, and then refusing to return consumers’ deposits.
In a statement to the press, Intoccia said that his business had sufferred from the housing crash in 2008 but that he had always intended to complete the homes or repay the customers whose homes were not completed.
"I could have filed bankruptcy and walked away from my residential projects and customers, as many other developers did. If I had filed bankruptcy, the individuals who entrusted me with deposits to build their dream homes would have lost their money. Instead I attempted to arrange for the customers to get their homes completed or to have their deposits refunded," Intoccia said in a statement. "On the day that the Attorney General’s office filed the civil action in my case, I assured those involved that my goal had been and remained to facilitate where possible the completion of the homes that were planned or to reimburse my customers for the deposits they paid to my companies. With today’s settlement with the Attorney General’s office, I have now been able to complete what I promised."
In addition to repaying the deposits, Intoccia consented to a $100,000 judgment, with a $30,000 payment to the state due immediately and $70,000 suspended pending compliance with the rest of the deal. He is also prohibited from taking advance deposits from customers in the future unless the funds are placed in escrow.
The $525,000 in repayment will go to more than a dozen individuals from whom Intoccia took deposits for new homes in Sharon, Halifax, North Attleboro, Norfolk and Franklin, beginning as far back as 2007.
According to the original complaint, Intoccia operated a development business in Norfolk County through a network of companies that were involved in the planning, marketing, and construction of the Bella Estates development in Sharon that was to consist of 29 single-family house lots. Intoccia allegedly solicited buyers and took deposits of up to $55,300 per residence.
