Federal Tax Structuring -- Glastonbury Man Pleads Guilty to Scheme

A Glastonbury man has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of structuring financial transactions to avoid paying federal taxes.

Connecticut’s U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly announced on Monday that David E. Raymond, 74, of Glastonbury, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to structuring financial transactions.

The charge of unlawfully structuring financial transactions carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine up to $250,000. Arterton scheduled sentencing for Jan. 15. Raymond has agreed to forfeit $10,000 and is free on a $200,000 bond.

Federal law requires all financial institutions to file a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) for transactions that exceed $10,000. To evade the filing of a CTR, individuals will often structure their currency transactions so that no single transaction exceeds $10,000, according to Daly. Structuring involves the repeated depositing or withdrawal of amounts of cash less than the $10,000 limit, or the splitting of a cash transaction that exceeds $10,000 into smaller cash transactions in an effort to avoid the reporting requirements. Even if the deposited funds are derived from a legitimate means, financial transactions conducted in this manner are still in violation of federal criminal law.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Raymond purchased rock and roll memorabilia for a doctor who owned a medical practice. Raymond’s friend, Andrea Dobrozensky, was the office manager for the medical practice and also paid the doctor’s personal expenses. For purchases of items for the doctor in amounts greater than $10,000, Raymond requested that any checks payable to him be made in amounts under $10,000 so as to avoid filling out a form. Dobrozensky wrote multiple checks, ranging in amounts from $4,000 to $9,900, payable to Raymond, many on the same date.

Between August 2009 and May 2012, Raymond received 20 checks totaling $146,500 from the medical practice’s business bank accounts. The checks were negotiated for cash at local bank branches where Raymond had personal accounts.

Prosecutors also claim that on Nov. 27, 2012, Raymond and Dobrozensky traveled to a branch of Farmington Bank in Avon where Raymond told Dobrozensky to write checks in amounts below $10,000. Dobrozensky wrote two checks, one to herself for $9,900 and one to Raymond for $9,900. Dobrozensky then cashed the check payable to her and received $9,900 in cash, and Raymond cashed the check payable to him and received $9,900 in cash. Later, Raymond provided the $9,900 to Dobrozensky.

On Oct. 13, Dobrozensky pleaded guilty to tax and structuring charges. She awaits sentencing.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Hartford Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John H. Durham and Peter S. Jongbloed.