Former Massachusetts Attorney Charged With Recording Fraudulent Federal Tax Lien Releases And With Bank Fraud

BOSTON – A Braintree man was charged in an indictment unsealed today with tax and bank fraud violations, primarily for recording and attempting to record false and fraudulent federal tax lien releases on properties he owned, and attempting to obtain a bank loan by fraud.

John C. McBride, 64, formerly of Marblehead and Edgartown, was charged in an Indictment with endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws, and bank fraud.

The indictment alleges that McBride, a Massachusetts attorney from 1974 to 2007, owned residences in Marblehead and Edgartown, both of which had federal tax liens placed on them by the IRS to secure tax assessments of more than $650,000. The indictment alleges that in early 2008, in connection with his obtaining a $288,000 loan secured by the Marblehead property, McBride caused six false, forged, and fraudulent Certificates of Federal Tax Lien Release to be recorded against that property, knowing that they were in fact false, forged and fraudulent, and not issued by the IRS.

In March 2008, it is alleged that McBride attempted, unsuccessfully, to record two such fraudulent Certificates of Federal Tax Lien Releases against his Edgartown property. Finally, the indictment alleges that McBride attempted to obtain a $387,000 reverse mortgage loan from Bank of America in 2011, to be secured by the Edgartown property. In connection with that loan application, it is alleged that McBride provided false information concerning the liens on that property and about the status of his bankruptcy proceeding, and also caused to be recorded a fraudulent and unauthorized Discharge of Mortgage which purported to discharge a mortgage on the Edgartown property in an amount greater than $700,000. The indictment asserts that Bank of America discovered the fraudulent Discharge before the loan closed, and no funds were disbursed to McBride.

The statutory maximum sentence for the tax offense is three years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The statutory maximum sentence for the bank fraud offense is 30 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release and a $1 million fine.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Kevin J. McGlynn, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Office of Investigations, New York Field Office; William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston; and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Balthazard of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit. The U.S. Attorney’s Office also received assistance from the U.S. Trustee’s Office in Boston.

The details contained in the Indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.