Area Lawyer Sentenced in $1.5 Million Tax Evasion Case

EAST HARTFORD, CT — An lawyer who had been practicing in the area was sentenced to two years in prison in a tax evasion case worth about $1.5 million, a leading prosecutor said.

John H. Durham, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Donald J. McCARTHY, 67, of East Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for tax evasion.

According to court documents and statements made in court, for the tax years 1997 through 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2008 through 2011, McCarthy, a lawyer, filed federal personal income tax returns, but failed to pay the outstanding tax balances due and owing for those years, or failed to pay interest and penalties that had accrued on outstanding amounts.

In addition, for the tax years 2012 through 2014, McCarthy did not file personal income tax returns at all, and failed to pay taxes that were "due and owing," as well as interest and penalties that had accrued on outstanding amounts, Durham said.

An investigation revealed that McCarthy attempted to evade the payment of income taxes by depositing his payroll checks into his personal bank account and then, shortly thereafter, withdrawing a substantial portion of the money in cash and bank checks, Durham said.

By June 2015, when he learned of the criminal investigation being conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, McCarthy owed $1,437,037 in back taxes, interest and penalties. McCarthy restitution to the IRS now totals $1,522,734, IRS officials said.

On Sept. 11, McCarthy pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion.

McCarthy, who had been free on a $50,000 bond, was ordered to report to prison on Jan. 31, 2018.

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