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United States Attorney Connecticut Financial Center FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 2, 2007 CONTACT:
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SIMSBURY MAN ADMITS STEALING NEARLY $2 MILLION FROM EMPLOYER, FAILING TO PAY TAXESKevin J. O’Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JEFFREY M. BOURKE, 32, of Simsbury, Connecticut, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to four counts of mail fraud and one count of filing a false tax return, charges that stem from his scheme to embezzle nearly $2,000,000 from his employer. According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, from approximately June 2001 through August 2006, BOURKE was an employee of a major health insurer in Connecticut. BOURKE worked in the company’s East Region marketing area and had responsibilities in the areas of finance, vendor management, and operations. In September 2003, BOURKE formed, in name only, a sham company called Health Management Solutions LLC. Starting in October 2003, BOURKE used Health Management Solutions as a means to embezzle money from his employer. As part of his employment duties, BOURKE was involved in vendor services and aware of the types of goods and/or services for which his employer contracted. BOURKE used that knowledge to create fictitious invoices that falsely represented goods and/or services provided to his employer by Health Management Solutions. BOURKE then presented the false invoices to company management for authorization. As a result, the company mailed checks totaling approximately $1,985,123 to BOURKE. BOURKE spent the money for his own personal use and enjoyment, which included, for example, the purchase and extensive renovation of a home, as well as the purchase of expensive watches, artwork and vacations. BOURKE also filed false tax returns for the years 2003 through 2005 because he either failed to report the money that he had embezzled from his employer or reported some of the embezzled funds as gross receipts and then reported false expense deductions to reduce his income. As a result, BOURKE owes back taxes in the total amount of $428,260, plus penalties and interest. Judge Thompson has scheduled sentencing for December 21, 2007, at which time BOURKE faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000 on each mail fraud count, and a maximum term of imprisonment of three years and a fine of up to $100,000 for filing a false tax return. This matter was investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nora R. Dannehy. |