Rather than bowing to pressure and resigning, Correia took a leave of absence until his term expired. The leave of absence allowed him to collect his $119,000 salary through the end of the year and retain his title.
Correia faces multiple charges
Correia was arrested twice while he was still mayor. His first arrest in 2018 was for charges that he defrauded his investors through his startup company SnoOwl.
While still in college, Correia developed an app that was capable of aggregating regional businesses’ social media posts into a single stream of content, in order to entice nearby consumers with offers and coupons.
It is alleged that Correia spent more than $231,000 obtained from investors for personal expenses. Prosecutors say he used investor funds as his “personal ATM” so he could live a lavish lifestyle and pay off student loan debt. He then filed fraudulent tax returns to cover the theft.
Last October, Correia pleaded not guilty to the wire and tax fraud charges and continues to maintain his innocence.
