Boston Marathon scammers get 3 years in prison

BOSTON — Two brothers convicted of filing a false $2 million claim to the Boston Marathon victims’ compensation fund using the name of a long-dead aunt were sentenced Monday to three years in prison.

Branden Mattier, 23, and Domunique Grice, 28, were convicted this month of conspiracy to commit larceny and attempt to commit larceny. Mattier also was convicted of identity fraud.

Prosecutors said the brothers submitted a claim to The One Fund claiming their aunt lost her legs in the April 15, 2013, bombing that killed three people and injured more than 260. The fund alerted authorities that the claim was suspicious.

Massachusetts State Police arrested Mattier when he accepted a fake check. Prosecutors said the brothers planned to test drive a new Mercedes-Benz the day they received the check.

The brothers both spoke in court about how the incident and their time in prison had changed them for the better.

But Suffolk Superior County Judge Jeffrey Locke told the men their crime seemed “almost sociopathic” and that neither brother seemed to express remorse in court about the potential impact to bombing victims or One Fund donors.

Locke also sentenced them to three years of probation, during which they will have to volunteer to help victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing every other Saturday for six hours.

Defense attorneys, who had asked that their clients be sentenced to five years’ probation only, said they would reserve the right to appeal.

Prosecutors had sought a four- to five-year prison sentence.