A federal grand jury in Bridgeport has indicted Heather Murdock, 57, of Ellington, on charges of fraud and tax offenses related to an embezzlement scheme. The indictment was announced by Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Anish Shukla, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Harry Chavis, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England.
Murdock appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford on March 20 and pleaded not guilty to the charges. She was released on a $40,000 bond.
According to the indictment, Murdock worked as a bookkeeper and office manager at a Hartford law firm referred to as "Firm A" in court documents. Between 2010 and 2022, she allegedly generated false checks payable to herself using Firm A's bookkeeping software and forged the signature of the firm's owner. To hide her actions, she altered bookkeeping entries to make it seem like the checks were issued to legitimate vendors. Through this scheme, Murdock is accused of stealing approximately $583,953.
The indictment also claims that Murdock stole cash rental payments from tenants of properties owned by Firm A's owner. She allegedly created false checks from Firm A’s bank account payable to an account where rental income was deposited and altered references in the firm's bookkeeping system. This scheme reportedly resulted in a theft of about $251,314.
Additionally, Murdock is accused of failing to pay federal income taxes on both the embezzled funds and her wages from Firm A for tax years 2013 through 2022. She also allegedly underreported her income for 2011 and 2012, with total underreported tax obligations amounting to $248,294.
Murdock faces five counts of bank fraud with each count carrying a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment; two counts of wire fraud with each count carrying up to 20 years imprisonment; and five counts of tax evasion with each count carrying up to five years imprisonment.
Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman emphasized that "an indictment is not evidence of guilt," stating that charges are only allegations until proven otherwise beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elena L. Coronado is prosecuting the case.
