Crime & Safety

Lotto Winner Who Scammed Locals Ordered to Repay Rental Company

Alleged scam artist Michael Santaniello's victims include Lexington residents.

This post was reported and written by Wilmington Patch Editor Christopher Gambon. 

A Chelmsford man who scammed 10 victims, including a Wilmington couple,  out of a total of $21,000 was ordered to pay for damage done to a rented car he used while fleeing from police in 2012, according to a report from the Lowell Sun. 
In Lowell District Court Tuesday, Michael Santaniello, 60, was ordered to pay $9,634 in restitution to Ed Oak, owner of Thrifty Car Rental in Westford,  according to the Sun. 

Santaniello rented the 2009 Kia Spectra on Jan. 7, 2012 on a one-day rental, but the vehicle wasn't found until Santaniello was arrested in Allentown, N.H. in September 2012, according to the Sun. 

According to the Sun, Oak was seeking $12,714 in restitution for fees including the daily rental rate and cleaning.

Oak testified there was significant damage to the car, inside and out, including a bag of dirty oil filters in the trunk, dirty rags and tools, piles of ashes and cigarette butts and scrapes and black spray paint on the exterior of the car, according to the Sun. 

Judge Laurence Pierce said Oak could not prove all the damage to the exterior of the car was done by Santaniello, and awarded Oak $9,634 in restitution, according to the Sun.

The restitution hearing comes after Santaniello was arrested in 2012 for scamming at least 10 victims out of $21,000, including Lexington residents. 

Santaniello, owner of Mike's Oil Heat Service in Chelmsford, would allegedly tell customers they needed new oil tanks or boilers,

Santaniello charged the Otis family of Wilmington $700 after saying their oil tank needed immediate repair and then did not return phone calls after not showing up to perform the job, according to an e-mail to Wilmington Patch last year.

“I just want to know why,” Leann Otis, 42, of Wilmington, said according to a Boston Herald story. “I trusted him. I’ve known him for 20 years. Why screw people like that?"

Santaniello allegedly repeated the scam in several surrounding towns including Bedford, Billerica, Burlington and Lexington, mostly targeting elderly customers.

According to the Sun, Santaniello pleaded guilty to the following charges last January:

  • Six counts of larceny over $250.
  • Four counts of larceny over $250 from a person over 60.
  • Larceny over $250 by false pretenses.
  • Failure to return leased property
According to the Sun, Prosecutor Reginal Krumholz the case said Santaniello will pay restitution to the 10 victims he scammed first, and then repay Oak for the rental. 

Three years prior to scamming customers out of a total of $21,000, Santaniello won $1 million on a scratch ticket, for which he will receive $35,000 annually for the next 20 years, according to the Herald. 


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