In October, The Boston Globe highlighted the case of an LSC client, Air Force Technical Sergeant Charles Cornacchio, whose belongings were sold by a Billerica moving and storage company while he was deployed to Qatar. Recently, the Globe reported on efforts by US Representatives Seth Moulton and Lori Trahan to introduce new penalties for companies who commit similar offenses.
From the Globe:
Two years ago, Air Force Technical Sergeant Charles Cornacchio lost nearly everything he owned when a Billerica storage company auctioned his belongings to the highest bidder while he was deployed to the Middle East.
Now, US Representative Seth Moulton, a Salem Democrat and combat veteran, is calling for tougher penalties, including lengthy prison terms for repeat offenders, against companies that illegally sell the possessions of military members on active duty.
On Tuesday Moulton and US Representative Lori Trahan, a Westford Democrat, introduced a bill that would subject anyone who illegally enforces a storage lien, after a previous conviction for the same offense, to a maximum of three years in prison.
“We clearly need to raise the stakes for this kind of behavior, give the Department of Justice a broader range of tools to punish offenders, and deter this kind of behavior going forward,” said Moulton, a US Marine who served four tours in Iraq.
It’s widely known in the military that “this kind of thing happens a lot,” Moulton said. But he believed Cornacchio’s case, reported in the Globe in October, was “the most egregious case I have heard about.”
Read the full story at The Boston Globe.