Editor’s note: The following news release from U.S. Attorney Jane Young’s office doesn’t identify the victim nonprofit, but federal court records indicate it is Harbor Care of Nashua.

CONCORD – David Duren of Haverhill, Mass. was sentenced Monday in federal court for attempting to steal almost $73,000 from a nonprofit health care provider, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.

            David Duren, a/k/a Dawud Hakiem Duren, 49, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph N. Laplante to 15 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release.  On July 1, 2024, Duren pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

            “The defendant is a recidivist fraudster who used a sophisticated scheme to steal money intended to help vulnerable veterans,” said U.S. Attorney Young.  “He spent the stolen money on items like a cruise, landscaping at his home and OnlyFans.com.  His brazen criminal conduct was compounded by the fact that he stole from a program dedicated to preventing veteran suicides. Today’s sentence should be a warning to others that stealing from veterans will not be tolerated and will result in incarceration.”

            “Today’s sentencing sends the message that the VA Office of Inspector General will work diligently to hold accountable those who would egregiously steal funds intended to help our most vulnerable veterans in crisis,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Algieri with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Field Office. “The VA OIG thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their excellent work in this case.”

Duren was a program manager for a nonprofit health care provider in Nashua, New Hampshire.  He oversaw a program funded by a $750,000 Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention grant.  The grant was awarded by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to provide treatment and services to veterans at risk of suicide.  At Duren’s recommendation, the health care provider hired a “faith-based organization” called “E3 Foundation” to provide services funded by the Staff Sergeant Fox grant.  E3 Foundation was in turn purportedly led by a “Dr. Michael Rapp.”  However, unbeknownst to the victim, E3 Foundation was a shell company and Dr. Rapp did not exist.  Duren was pretending to be “Dr. Michael Rapp” on emails and calls.

            Duren was able to fraudulently obtain almost $50,000 in Staff Sergeant Fox program funds and tried to obtain an additional $24,000 before being discovered.  He used a website called “Invoice Generator” to create fake invoices.  Duren offered to personally hand-deliver payments to E3 Foundation and Dr. Rapp at their regularly scheduled meetings.  Duren and E3 Foundation did not provide the services and products that he billed for.

            After the fraud was uncovered, Duren took steps to attempt to conceal his wrongdoing.  For example, he emailed the victim a document containing notes of a “meeting” between himself and Dr. Rapp dated July 28, 2023, but the metadata proved he created the document a month after that date.  Duren also provided the victim a phone number for Dr. Rapp, who replied via email that he was on vacation in Europe.  Shortly after, Duren created a voicemail for Dr. Rapp he titled “Rapp vacation.”  And, when law enforcement interviewed Duren, he claimed that the stolen money used to pay for his home’s landscaping was justified because he was using the money to “create a space that was conducive” to hosting veterans.

            Approximately a decade ago, Duren was convicted of stealing more than $143,000 from the U.S. Department of Defense.

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of the Inspector General and Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen prosecuted the case.