Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia said he did "nothing wrong" as he left federal court in Boston Thursday afternoon, following his early morning arrest on charges that he defrauded investors in his company to fuel his "lavish lifestyle." 
 
 The 26-year-old mayor, who pleaded not guilty to nine counts of wire fraud and four counts of filing false taxes Thursday, emerged from the courthouse with a smile and a message. 
 
 "I've done nothing wrong. If you look at my track record as mayor all you see is positive results," he told media gathered outside in the rain. "I was elected and re-elected with 65 percent of the vote in Fall River and if you look at those bogus charges or whatever they're called there is not a single thing...I did wrong as the mayor of the city of Fall River." 
 
 Correia was arrested by FBI and IRS agents at a home in Bridgewater at 6:30 a.m. Thursday. Andrew Lelling, U.S. Attorney for the district of Massachusetts, alleges the mayor spent more than half of the money Massachusetts residents invested in his app SnoOwl on personal items. 
 
 This included airfare, luxury hotel stays, adult entertainment, dating services, designer clothes, and a Mercedes, prosecutors allege in an indictment. 
 
 Correia changed from the polo shirt and jeans he wore during his arraignment into a suit before exiting court to speak with more than a dozen reporters. He thanked the agents who arrested him for being "nice." He said he was not angry. 
 
 "It's not my best Thursday. It's raining," he said. "I don't like to be out in the rain." 
 
 He said he was headed straight to the office to "get back to serving the people of Fall River." 
 
 Correia said he will not resign because the charges are not related to his work as mayor. 
 
 "There is absolutely no reason," to resign, he said. 

 Fall River Mayor Jasiel F. Correia II calls himself a “classic example of a Fall River kid made good” in an official biography, which highlights his rise from “youth of the year” in 2008 to being elected the youngest mayor in the city’s history in 2015 at age 23. 
 
 But a federal indictment unsealed Thursday cast an ignominious shadow over Correia’s precocious political ascent with allegations that he stole more than $231,000 from investors in his tech startup and used the money on expensive travel, a Mercedes-Benz sedan, casinos, and adult entertainment. 
 
 The stolen funds, equal to about six times the median household income in Fall River, were taken from investors in SnoOwl, which Correia founded in 2012, federal prosecutors said. 
 
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 Correia is also charged with filing fraudulent tax returns in an effort to conceal the scheme. Prosecutors allege Correia stole about 64 percent of the $363,690 that SnoOwl’s seven investors contributed and spent it before becoming mayor. 
 
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 “Today’s arrest is a shock to many in the city which has prided itself on a tradition of honest government, hard work, and public service,” Harold Shaw, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston office, said at a news conference. “Yet its mayor was far from honest, selling out his friends and associates for his own personal gain. His actions were underhanded, shameless, and greedy.” 
 
 FBI agents arrested Correia, 26, in Bridgewater at about 6:30 a.m. Thursday and brought him to Boston, where he appeared in a federal courtroom smiling and wearing leg irons with his hands cuffed behind his back. 
 
 He pleaded not guilty to nine counts of wire fraud and four counts of filing false tax returns as Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley set unsecured bond of $10,000, a sum Correia would only have to pay if he fails to appear in court. After being set free, Correia changed into a blue suit, red tie, and Fall River lapel pin, and then denied the charges after leaving court. 
 
 “I’ve done nothing wrong,” said Correia, a Democrat who was reelected last year by a wide margin. “If you look at those bogus charges, whatever they’re called, there’s not a single thing . . . that the US attorney’s office said in that 19-page indictment that I did wrong as the mayor of Fall River.” 
 
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 He said he has no plans to resign. 
 
 “I love the city of Fall River,” said Correia, flanked by his defense attorneys. “I’m going to go back to my office tonight and get back to work serving the people of Fall River.” 
 
 One of his lawyers, Mark Berthiaume, said Correia established SnoOwl while he was an undergraduate student at Providence College. 
 
 “This is a business dispute that has no business being in a federal, criminal court,” Berthiaume said. 
 
 SnoOwl was developing an app that would connect businesses and consumers. The fraud unfolded, prosecutors said, when Correia falsely claimed in his pitch to potential investors that he already built and sold an app called FindIt Networks for a profit. 
 
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 A prototype for SnoOwl was built, but the product never made it to market, despite representations Correia made to investors that the company was in good standing and their money was being spent on the app, US Attorney Andrew Lelling said at the news conference. 
 
 None of the investors have received returns, and investigators believe Correia has spent their money, he said. Correia largely abandoned SnoOwl in 2015 when he launched his mayoral campaign, according to the indictment. 
 
 “Despite the trappings of a company and whatever technical progress was made on the app product that SnoOwl intended to sell, the company was first and foremost a clever way to defraud well-intentioned investors and fund Correia’s lifestyle,” Lelling said. 
 
 The first victim listed in the indictment is identified as an orthodontist whose son attended high school with Correia. In January 2013, he invested $50,000 in exchange for equity in SnoOwl. But about a month later, according to the indictment, Correia used $10,000 of that money to buy a 2011 Mercedes-Benz sports sedan. 
 
 The orthodontist, who sunk a total of $145,000 into SnoOwl, declined to comment Thursday, as did a lawyer for another investor. None of the investors are named in the indictment, though some have come forward in The Herald News, a newspaper in Fall River. 
 
 Lelling said authorities 
 
 haven’t found evidence that Correia misused public funds while in office, but stressed the investigation is continuing. 
 
 Correia also is accused of using $10,000 of the investment money to pay off student loans and finance his political campaign, while other funds paid for charitable donations in his own name, jewelry, restaurants, and designer clothing, the indictment said. 
 
 While making his first run for mayor three years ago, Correia, then a city councilor, said his stewardship of SnoOwl was proof he was qualified to run Fall River, Lelling said. 
 
 Former mayor Sam Sutter, whom Correia defeated in 2015, said he had information three years ago that SnoOwl was a failure. 
 
 “One of the frustrating aspects of the campaign was that a lot of people thought he was a success and had been an entrepreneurial wizard,” Sutter said. “But the exact opposite was true.” 
 
 Investigators said Correia tried to cover his tracks by filing false tax returns for 2013 and 2014. When Correia learned he was under federal investigation in spring 2017, he directed his accountant to file amended personal tax returns to account “for the diverted investor funds that he had previously failed to report as income,” Lelling said. 
 
 In January, the Friends of Jasiel F. Correia II Legal Defense Fund was registered with the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance, records show. 
 
 The fund has collected more than $76,000, including thousands of dollars donated by Correia’s campaign committee. 
 
 Among Fall River residents, reaction to Correia’s arrest was mixed. 
 
 “He’s a thief — that’s what he is,” said Eddie Perriera, 90, shaking his head as he sat with arms folded on a park bench. “This has been going on for years, and they’re just catching on.” 
 
 Another resident, David Pacheco, 70, said he voted for Correia in 2015, but not last year. 
 
 “I’m not shocked about this. Money does things to people,” Pacheco said. “At 26 years old, he had the world in the palm of his hand, and the people believed in him.” 
 
 Some expressed support for Correia. 
 
 “I love the man,” said a woman who gave only her first name, Lydia . “He’s done a lot of good things for this city that a lot of people aren’t noticing. He’s fixing the streets. He’s fixing the pipes. What more do people want?” 
 
 A status conference in Correia’s case is scheduled for Dec. 6. As he walked away from the courthouse Thursday afternoon with his lawyers, Correia was followed by journalists shouting questions about reports that he was partying Wednesday night in a Seaport District nightclub. 
 
 Travis Andersen of the Globe staff and Globe correspondent Matt Stout contributed. Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com . Follow her on Twitter @lauracrimaldi . Brian MacQuarrie can be reached at brian.macquarrie@globe.com 

 FALL RIVER — A defiant Fall River Mayor Jasiel F. Correia II returned to City Hall Friday amid a call from Governor Charlie Baker to relinquish his post while his criminal case is pending and plans by city councilors to hold a special session to discuss the indictment. 
 
 Baker, who renounced Correia’s endorsement Thursday, released a statement Friday urging the 26-year-old Democratic mayor to hand over the reins of power following his arrest on federal fraud and tax evasion charges. 
 
 “Governor Baker and Lieutenant Governor Polito believe that in light of these serious allegations, Mayor Correia should act in the best interests of the people of Fall River and step aside until the case is resolved,” the statement from Baker/Polito campaign spokesman Terry MacCormack said. “Ultimately, it is up to residents and voters to decide who is best fit to lead the city.” 
 
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 City Council President Cliff Ponte said he’s convening a special meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday to discuss the criminal case against Correia and any proposals from members “regarding the leadership of our city.” 
 
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 Correia was arrested Thursday morning and charged with stealing more than $231,000 from investors in his SnoOwl tech startup. Federal prosecutors said he used the money on expensive travel, a Mercedes-Benz sedan, casinos, and adult entertainment. 
 
 He is also charged with filing fraudulent tax returns in an effort to conceal the alleged scheme. Prosecutors allege Correia stole about 64 percent of the $363,690 that SnoOwl’s seven investors contributed and spent it before being sworn in as mayor in 2016. He has pleaded not guilty to nine counts of wire fraud and four counts of filing false tax returns. 
 
 Correia, back on the job Friday morning, insisted he would not resign. 
 
 “I’m back at work and doing the people’s business,” he said as he walked out of his office and into an elevator. “I was elected to do the job, and it is my job to be the mayor, and, until such time as it isn’t my job, I’m going to continue to do the job.” 
 
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 City Councilor Leo Pelletier said Correia should step aside, citing allegations that he spent ill-gotten gains on adult entertainment. 
 
 “Some of the money he spent and the way he spent it is embarrassing,” said Pelletier, who has served on the council for 30 years. “He’s a college man. He should know better.” 
 
 The city charter includes a recall process for elected officials and a mechanism for replacing the mayor “by reason of sickness or other cause.” 
 
 The nine-member City Council has the authority to find Correia “unable to perform the duties of the office” and install its president, Ponte, as acting mayor with a vote of seven councilors, according to the charter. 
 
 Pelletier, however, said he doesn’t believe enough councilors would vote to force Correia to step aside. The recall process takes too long, he said. 
 
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 “You could probably squeeze five [votes] unless the people badger these other guys,” Pelletier said. 
 
 If Correia is convicted, he would be ousted under the charter. 
 
 Another councilor, Steven A. Camara, said Correia should decide whether to resign. He said he wouldn’t support a recall or any effort to force Correia to step aside and put an acting mayor in charge of Fall River. 
 
 “One is innocent until proven guilty,” Camara said. “An indictment is an accusation.” 
 
 City operations aren’t solely reliant upon Correia, Camara said, noting Fall River has a city administrator and department heads who run different aspects of municipal government. 
 
 “The mayor is one person,” he said. 
 
 In 2014, the city ousted Mayor William Flanagan in a recall election and voted in Samuel Sutter, who was then Bristol district attorney. A few months before the vote, Correia, then a city councilor, accused Flanagan of trying to intimidate him. He said Flanagan showed him a gun during a ride in Flanagan’s vehicle, after Correia signed a petition seeking the recall. 
 
 Correia first ran for mayor in 2015 at age 23, defeating Sutter and becoming the youngest person elected to the post in Fall River’s history. Last year he won reelection by a wide margin. 
 
 The state Democratic Party declined to say whether Correia should resign. 
 
 “The charges against Mayor Correia are serious, and the people of Fall River deserve a thorough, fair, and transparent investigation,” Veronica Martinez, the party’s executive director, said in a statement. 
 
 Asked Friday how he would respond to a city councilor who has called on him to step down, Correia chuckled. 
 
 “Oh, come on,” he said. “City councilors always talk.” 
 
 Correia said he has a full agenda and plans to attend events throughout the city. 
 
 Then he let the elevator doors close, ending the interview. 
 
 Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com . Follow him on Twitter @mlevenson . Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com . Follow her on Twitter @lauracrimaldi
– Elected at age 23, arrested three years later: That's the latest on Jasiel Correia, the youngest-ever mayor of Fall River, Mass., and alleged defrauder of investors in a tech startup, the Boston Globe reports. Before turning mayor in 2015, Correia allegedly spent $231,000 in investors' money on everything from a Mercedes-Benz to pricey travel to adult entertainment—then filed fraudulent tax returns to cover his trail. "It's not my best Thursday," he said after pleading not guilty to 13 counts of wire and tax fraud in federal court in Boston, per MassLive. "It's raining. I don't like to be out in the rain." Correia also issued a public denial of sorts: "There is not a single thing ... I did wrong as the mayor of the city of Fall River," he said. Per a federal indictment, Correia lied to investors of the business app SnoOwl by saying he'd created a profitable app before. He then allegedly spent almost two-thirds of their money: $10,000 on a 2011 Mercedes sports sedan, another $10,000 to pay off student loans and boost his political campaign, and other funds on designer clothing, restaurants, jewelry, and charitable donations in his name. None of the seven investors have seen returns. "One of the frustrating aspects of [Correia's first mayoral] campaign was that a lot of people thought he was a success and had been an entrepreneurial wizard," says former mayor Sam Sutter, who lost to Correia in 2015. "But the exact opposite was true." Correia returned to work Friday at City Hall saying he would not resign, per the Globe.