Southport Man Sentenced to Prison for Failing to Pay Taxes on Money He Stole from Benefactor

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ORVAL FURLONG, 73, of Southport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to five months of imprisonment, followed by one year of supervised release, for failing to pay taxes on money he stole from a benefactor.  FURLONG also was ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.

According to court documents and statements made in court, FURLONG was a life-long friend of a wealthy benefactor and, over the years, the benefactor paid some of FURLONG’s debts.  During the last years of the benefactor’s life, FURLONG hired home health aides to care for the benefactor.  During this time, the benefactor provided FURLONG with a stipend of approximately $8,000 to $10,000 per month.  The benefactor also employed the services of an attorney who acted as the benefactor’s power of attorney and oversaw the benefactor’s finances.  FURLONG provided the attorney with a detailed itemization of the hours worked by the home health aides, the hourly rates for their services, and the total funds needed to pay them for the services provided.  The attorney then issued FURLONG checks from one of the benefactor’s bank accounts to pay the health aides.

From at least 2009 to 2011, FURLONG routinely inflated the applicable hourly rate paid to the home health aides.  FURLONG then paid the home health aides in cash or by check in an amount significantly lower than FURLONG had represented to the attorney.  FURLONG kept the difference and used the funds for his personal expenditures. 

On February 22, 2016, FURLONG pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and admitted that he failed to report more than $500,000 in stolen income on his 2009 through 2011 federal tax returns.

FURLONG has paid $105,693 in back taxes.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser.