Boston city employee accused of swindling home from elderly uncle heading to trial for separate case
A Boston Water and Sewer Commission employee embroiled in a lawsuit that accuses her of swindling her elderly uncle out of his home is set to go to trial next month for a prior suit that alleges she stiffed a woman on a $75,000 mortgage loan.
Marie Theodat, human resources director for the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, is set to face trial on Nov. 18 for a 2020 lawsuit filed in Suffolk Superior Court by Gertha Pierre, who alleges that she was never repaid for the 2016 mortgage loan she granted to Theodat for her Milton home, 46 Clifton Road.
The lawsuit outlines a series of events that accuse Theodat and her prior co-defendant Ernst Guerrier, an attorney who represented Pierre in the loan transaction, of withholding key information that led to Pierre neglecting to take the necessary steps to protect herself in the case of non-payment, or that may have made her more cautious about making the loan to Theodat in the first place.
“Guerrier knew or should have known from his prior personal relationship with Theodat that there were already outstanding mortgage loans on 46 Clifton Road,” the lawsuit states. “Guerrier had a duty to speak with Pierre about the risks involved in a transaction of this nature and to divulge all material facts which would have had a bearing on Pierre’s decision to partake in the transaction.”
Guerrier “failed to properly advise, assist and conduct himself in a manner appropriate and expected of an attorney” in Massachusetts by failing to take such steps as disclosing his prior personal relationship with Theodat to his client and having Pierre sign a conflict of interest waiver, and obtaining an appraisal of Theodat’s home at 46 Clifton Road to determine if there was sufficient equity to secure the mortgage loan, the lawsuit states.
Pierre’s attorney also failed to obtain a title search to determine what other mortgages were on the property, register the loan with the Attorney General’s office, communicate with Pierre that her mortgage was unsecured, and record the mortgage at the appropriate registry of deeds, the lawsuit states.
Theodat defaulted on the $75,000 mortgage loan on March 1, 2016, less than a month after it was granted to her by Pierre, on Feb. 16, the lawsuit states.
“Due to Guerrier’s negligence in handling the mortgage matter, Pierre suffered a loss of $150,000,” the lawsuit states. “Theodat has received $75,000 from Pierre, subsequently failed to repay it and owes her $75,000.”
Michael Keohane, a Boston attorney representing Pierre in the lawsuit, said his client reached a prior settlement agreement with Guerrier, who is no longer a defendant in the case and will likely be a witness in the upcoming trial.
Keohane said Guerrier filed a cross-claim against Theodat “alleging that whatever he was on the hook for, she should be paying.”
He said the lack of repayment for the $75,000 loan has made things “hard” for his client, “who hoped to use that money for investment purposes.”
“That’s actually what she thought this was for,” Keohane said. “So, she was out that money, which is a considerable amount, plus the anticipated return that she had. It’s been years now of course, so it made it hard for her, without that money, without the realization of an investment that she was hoping to make.”
Attorneys listed as representing Theodat and Guerrier on the court docket did not respond to requests for comment.
Theodat filed a response to the plaintiff’s statement of material facts in February 2024, disputing the basis of the complaint.
“Ms. Theodat never borrowed $75,000 from Gertha Pierre, and she did not execute the alleged promissory note or mortgage deed as alleged by Gertha Pierre,” the response filed by Theodat’s attorney, Adam Cohen, states.
Theodat also disputed signing a $150,000 mortgage to secure the note, which outlined the terms of repayment, by providing the same response.
The trial date for the years-old suit is approaching in the aftermath of a new lawsuit filed against Marie Theodat, her sister, Danny Levy Theodat and Levy’s husband, Wayne Levy, all three of whom are public officials making six-figure salaries, that became public after it was first reported by the Herald this month.
In that Aug. 20 lawsuit, Marie Theodat; Danny Levy Theodat, who works as chief customer and employee experience officer for the MBTA; and Wayne Levy, chief of staff at the quasi-public agency, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, are accused of swindling the two sisters’ elderly and dementia-ridden uncle out of his $1.1 million home, by having him sign over the deed for “less than $100.”
The suit alleges the transaction was made under false pretenses, in that Marie Theodat “fraudulently induced” the plaintiff, 88-year-old Rodolphe St. Cloud, to sign over the deed to his longtime home under the “guise” that he was signing documents related to his medical care. St. Cloud, a Haitian-American man, does not read or speak English.
Keohane said he is aware of the new lawsuit, which he said raises further concerns about whether his client will be able to get her money back from Theodat.
“Just to have another lawsuit that says there’s these allegations out there that someone else is getting the same treatment, it does make it hard,” Keohane said. “You do worry about whether the defendant’s judgment-proofed it, if all the things that are going on have tied up all the possible assets. It’s kind of what we do. It’s kind of a gamble trying to claw back money for your clients.”
Dolores Randolph, a spokesperson for the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, declined to comment on the 2020 lawsuit, but provided a statement when reached about last month’s complaint, filed by former Boston city councilor Ricardo Arroyo.
“BWSC is aware of the allegations made in the complaint,” Randolph said. “This is a personal civil matter to be decided before the court and BWSC has no comment at this time.”
Theodat called the complaint "fraudulent" earlier this month, but otherwise declined to comment.
Marie Theodat’s annual salary at the Boston Water and Sewer Commission is roughly $189,958, per a BWSC spokesperson. Danny Levy Theodat is paid an annual salary of $247,000 at the MBTA and Wayne Levy’s annual rate at the Life Sciences Center is listed at $181,896, per state payroll records.
The MBTA and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center previously declined to comment on the latest lawsuit.