Former Mass. shelter head gets jail for stealing from organization

The former head of a publicly funded nonprofit that ran homeless shelters in Massachusetts has been sent to jail for a year for stealing $1.5 million from the organization and lying under oath, prosecutors said.

Manuel Duran, 70, was also sentenced Thursday to four years of probation and 250 hours of community service after pleading guilty to larceny and perjury related to his time as executive director of Casa Nueva Vida, which sheltered about 150 primarily Spanish-speaking families at more than a dozen locations in Boston and Lawrence, according to the state attorney general's office.

He was also ordered to pay restitution in an amount to be determined.

An investigation initiated after an anonymous tip found that Duran leased four properties he owned and one owned by a relative to the shelter. He then signed disclosure forms under oath that falsely said the organization was not a party to any transaction in which any of its officers, directors, or trustees had a material financial interest, authorities said.

In a related civil matter, Duran in January agreed to pay $6 million to settle allegations that he funneled state money to himself.

The organization’s programs have been taken over by a another shelter group.