Canton Man Charged with Evading Taxes on Over $2 million in income

CANTON, MA — A Canton man and his wife evaded taxes on over $2 million in income, investigators said.

Harry Webster, 52, of Canton, and Nancy Webster, 59, of Hyde Park, were arraigned in Suffolk County Superior Court. Webster is charged with six counts of failure to timely file an income tax return, six counts of filing a false tax return, as well as two counts each of larceny over $250 and larceny over $250 by scheme in connection with the theft of funds from his former employer. Webster faces a charge of filing a false tax return, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.

Both were released on their own recognizance.

Assistant District Attorney Michele Granda told the court that Harry Webster stole $403,000 from East Boston steel fabricator Tuckerman Steel, where he worked as general manager until 2011.
As an employee, Webster allegedly received $167,000 in kickbacks from a subcontractor during 2006 and funneled them to Seacoast Engineering & Design, a shell company he controlled, the DA’s office said. He additionally caused Tuckerman Steel to issue unauthorized checks to Seacoast Engineering & Design totaling $63,500 during December 2007 and January 2008. In April 2008, Webster allegedly paid himself an unauthorized bonus of $73,000 and a second unauthorized bonus of $100,000 one month later.

At the time of his employment with the company, Webster and his wife lived in Durham, N.H., and were required to file Massachusetts non-resident tax returns on the income he earned while working in Massachusetts. However, the couple failed to file Massachusetts tax returns for the years 2006 through 2011. During those years, Webster earned a total of $2,278,500 from Tuckerman Steel, for which the Massachusetts Department of Revenue estimated the Websters would owe $116,726 in taxes.

After learning that the state’s Department of Revenue was investigating their alleged tax evasion, Harry and Nancy Webster on May 22, 2013, submitted non-resident tax returns for the years 2006 through 2011. In those returns, the couple knowingly reported false information to the Department of Revenue, including allegedly phony deductions and false business losses, and failed to report large portions of their income, prosecutors said. As a
result, the Websters reported a tax liability of just $36,962.

Both are due back in court on Sept. 26.

Information in this article is from the Suffolk County District Attorney's office. Arrests and charges mentioned don't imply conviction.