HARRISON — A Massachusetts businessman bought the $1 million lakefront home of embezzler Dawn Solomon at auction Tuesday for $360,000.

John Dedian of Concord, Mass., was the winning bidder for the large, unfinished house and three-bay garage at 90 Zakelo Road. The 7-acre property is on the eastern shore of Long Lake and has 435 feet of frontage.

“I hope to live in it year-round,” Dedian said. He has family in Scarborough and Massachusetts and works in the merchandise display business.

Dedian has 45 days to close on the purchase.

About 25 people, including 10 registered bidders from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts and several Zakelo Road neighbors, gathered in the house’s great room with its inlaid floors and stone hearth.

Auctioneer and Vice President Michael Carey of Tranzon Auction Properties of Portland attempted to elicit an opening bid of $500,000, but no one bit. The bidding began at $200,000 and hit $360,000 after about 10 minutes.

The property is assessed by the town at $1 million; $696,900 for the land and $344,300 for the buildings, according to town records.

Solomon owes the town $9,920 in property taxes for 2010 and $10,256 for 2011. If they are not paid by certain deadlines, the town would foreclose on the property, town officials said.

Solomon operated the Living Independence Network Corp. in Norway, providing behavior management and physical and social development services to children with mental disabilities. She pleaded guilty last December to stealing more than $4 million from the MaineCare program through false billings since 2006.

She began serving 42 months in prison in June.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Portland allowed her personal debts to be discharged this month, and she was granted Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief on Aug. 15.

She has also filed for bankruptcy for her real estate holding company, New Horizons Investment LLC, which is the owner on record of the Long Lake property.

Solomon is claiming $1.8 million in secured debts and $63,500 in unsecured debts, according to her attorney, Jeffrey P. White of Portland. White said the lenders filed foreclosures on the properties they hold as collateral but all other legal action, such as personal debt, has been stayed by the bankruptcy.

The Harrison property is one of 10 owned by Solomon in Norway, Paris and Harrison that have gone to lender-ordered auctions since March. Each property is listed under the ownership of Dawn Solomon, Dawn and (her husband) Harvey Solomon, Dawn Cummings (her maiden name) or New Horizons Capital Investment LLC.

It was unclear whether the state will recover any of its $4 million from Tuesday’s sale. Brenda Kielty, spokeswoman for the Maine Attorney General Office, said last week that the restitution is not dischargeable under the bankruptcy proceedings, but she refused to comment on how the money would be recovered.

ldixon@sunjournal.com

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