LANSING, Mich. (WOOD) — In a federal courtroom Monday morning, a West Michigan contractor who swindled people by convincing them to invest in phony projects, pleaded guilty to seven counts of wire fraud.

“I accept responsibility for what I have done,” a subdued Matthew Mencarelli told U.S. District Court Judge Hala Y Jarbou in Lansing. “I’m here to plead guilty.”

Though the indictment against Mencarelli, 38, named six victims who lost a total of $720,300, federal prosecutors said his scheme actually brought in more than double that amount.

“Defendant Mencarelli defrauded more than a dozen individuals out of, collectively, approximately 1.7 million dollars, by making various false representations, including that he had lucrative contracts with the state or local governments in Traverse City to install fiber optic or other infrastructure when, in fact, he had no such contracts,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen P. Baker wrote in the government’s trial brief. “He guaranteed high rates of return to the investors and, at least for some, assured them their principle was at no risk.”

Reading from a prepared statement in court Monday, Mencarelli acknowledged each element of his crimes.

“I solicited money as an investment from a number of people for infrastructure projects, fiber optic installation,” Mencarelli read. “In reality, there were no projects. … The statements I made … were false.”

When it was time to pay an investor back, Mencarelli tried to maintain the charade.

“I continued to lie and mislead about the status of the projects,” Mencarelli admitted in court. “I created documents showing wire transfers when I knew there was no transfer.”

Mencarelli told the judge he instead used the money for “personal reasons.”

Baker said in court that the one project in which Mencarelli actually invested was his own home; he was having it custom built at the top of a long driveway in the Rockford area.

“(Mencarelli) misappropriated the funds for personal and business expenses,” Baker wrote in the trial brief. “Over time, (he) used some of the later gained funds to pay off earlier investors.”

The trial brief noted that Mencarelli’s father was in the construction business, and, initially, he “followed in his footsteps,” opening Matthew’s Woodworking.

“Beginning in 2018 and into 2022, Mencarelli approached his friends, and associates of his father, to solicit them for phony investments,” Baker wrote in the trial brief.

The maximum penalty for wire fraud is 20 years in prison, and/or a $250,000 fine, or twice the monetary gain from the offense, whichever is greater. No sentencing date has been set, though the judge said it would likely be next year.

Target 8 first exposed Mencarelli in November 2021 when he took $9,000 from the Agar family of Rockford to renovate their basement so Johnny Agar, who has cerebral palsy, could live there. Mencarelli never started the project, and the Agars called Target 8 for help.

Following the initial story, a group of contractors and suppliers came together and donated their time and materials to build Johnny’s dream apartment in the Agar’s basement. It was done in time for Christmas 2021, and the Agars called it their Christmas miracle.