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A former Boston Police Sergeant was sentenced on July 18, 2024 in federal court in Boston in connection with an investigation of overtime fraud at the Boston Police Department’s (BPD) evidence warehouse, according to a news release from the US Department of Justice.
George Finch, 62, of Franklin, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to three years of probation, to be followed by six months to be served in home detention. Finch was also ordered to pay $11,310 in restitution. In June 2021, Finch pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and one count of embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds.
From at least March 2015 through December 2016, Finch submitted false and fraudulent overtime slips for overtime shifts that he did not work at the evidence warehouse. The “purge” overtime was a 4 – 8 p.m. weekday shift intended to dispose of old, unneeded evidence. “Kiosk” overtime involved driving to each police district in Boston one Saturday a month to collect old prescription drugs to be burned.
For the “purge” shift, Finch claimed to have worked from 4 – 8 p.m., but he and, allegedly, other members of the unit, routinely left at 6 p.m., or earlier. For the “kiosk” shift, Finch submitted overtime slips claiming to have worked eight-and-one-half hours, when in fact he and, allegedly, other members of the unit, only worked three-to-four hours of those shifts. As a supervisor, Finch endorsed fraudulent overtime slips submitted by the officers at the warehouse.
Between March 2015 and December 2016, Finch personally collected approximately $16,151 for overtime hours he did not work.
According to a survey by the American Payroll Association, misreporting of working hours affects 75 percent of businesses and costs up to 7% of their gross annual payroll. Nearly half of workers admit they do personal business 'on company time' and proportion admit to taking extra break time.
In the case of the Boston Police Department, to date, over a dozen officers have been charged in connection with committing overtime fraud at the Boston Police Department’s evidence warehouse. Finch is the fifth officer to be sentenced.
The indirect involvement of federal funds made the matter far more consequential for those prosecuted.
From 2015 through 2019, BPD received annual benefits from the U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Justice in excess of $10,000, which were funded pursuant to numerous federal grants.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohan, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Ryan T. Geach, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, New York Field Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Grady of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.
