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Convicted State Rep’s Cash Stash Grows
BOSTON – In a shocking revelation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, working with the U.S. Marshals Service and the Internal Revenue Service, have recovered an additional $1 million in cash, jewelry, and luxury watches from former State Representative John George.
George was convicted and sentenced in 2015 on federal charges related to his embezzlement from a taxpayer-subsidized bus company, which he controlled. The recovered cash, along with previous seizures, brings the total amount of concealed cash and other valuables to over $2.5 million.
The money was recovered from seven safe deposit boxes filled with cash tied up in rolls of $100s, $50s, and other denominations. The safe deposit boxes were located at three banks in New Bedford and Fairhaven. Yesterday’s actions followed court authorization to recover the additional funds discovered while executing the original search and seizure warrants in December.
George, 68, was sentenced to 70 months in prison in July 2015 for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA). George owned Union Street Bus Company (USBC), a New Bedford-based company that operated public buses. He also operated John George Farms (JG Farm), a large produce farm based in Dartmouth.
During his time as State Representative, George conspired to have USBC employees work at JG Farm during their assigned USBC work hours. He inflated his final yearly salary from $75,000 to $275,000 in an attempt to fraudulently boost his SRTA pension. George also deposited only $5,000 in cash into his JG Farm business checking account despite the fact that JG Farm was the largest retail produce farm in Southeastern Massachusetts and did most of its business in cash.
George was required to disclose his financial status to the Court prior to his sentencing. At that time, he stated that his liquid assets only consisted of about $160,000 in bank accounts and approximately $28,000 in cash.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-Criminal Investigation, and John Gibbons, U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts, made the announcement today. The criminal forfeiture was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Doreen Rachal of Ortiz’s Asset Forfeiture Unit working in conjunction with the U.S. Marshal’s Asset Forfeiture Unit.
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Public Corruption|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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