Ex-Whitman Police Sergeant Charged with Embezzling Funds from Disabled Veterans

WHITMAN, MA —A former member of the Whitman Police Department misappropriated funds from the accounts of disabled veterans while he was a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs-appointed fiduciary and preparing false income tax returns for clients of his tax preparation business, officials said.

Glenn P. Pearson, 60, was arrested Thursday and charged with wire fraud, misappropriation by a federal fiduciary, making false statements, and preparing fraudulent tax returns. He was arraigned in US District Court in Boston, according to the US Attorney's office.

From 2007 to 2012, Pearson worked as a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs-appointed fiduciary for eight disabled veterans of the armed forces, according to an indictment. Pearson allegedly use his position to misappropriate and embezzle VA-issued benefit money out of the accounts of several veterans for whom he served as fiduciary. Pearson allegedly used the money to, among other things, pay down the mortgage on his house.

Starting in 2012, Pearson operated a tax preparation business called FTS Tax Services. Until this year, Pearson allegedly prepared numerous returns that included false credits and fictitious deductions in an effort to get his clients larger refunds than they actually were owed. In addition, the indictment alleges that Pearson filed false personal income tax returns for himself from 2010 through 2014, and took steps to obstruct the IRS, such as by preparing false documents for his clients to submit to the IRS during audits.

If found guilty, Pearson faces up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud charge, five years each for misappropriation of funds by a fiduciary and making false statements, three years for preparing fraudulent tax returns, and three years for attempting to interfere with the administration of internal revenue laws.

Information in this article was provided by the U.S. Attorney's office. Arrests and charges mentioned don't imply conviction.