A federal grand jury in New Haven has indicted George Davis Telford, Jr., 36, of Tolland, on charges related to tax and fraud offenses. The announcement was made by David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England; and Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General.
The indictment alleges that Telford created fake trust entities to obtain fraudulent refunds from the IRS for supposed tax overpayments. In 2019 and 2020, he allegedly filed five false federal tax returns claiming approximately $6.2 million in refunds. The IRS paid him one refund amounting to $564,758 for a tax return filed for the "Telford Asset Family Trust" for the 2018 tax year.
Further allegations state that in 2022 and 2023, Telford defrauded the Connecticut Department of Labor (CT DOL) by filing fraudulent unemployment insurance claims. These claims were purportedly to compensate displaced workers from an entity called "High Class Grads LLC," which he claimed to own. The CT DOL paid out $48,792 based on these false claims.
Telford faces five counts of making and subscribing a false tax return, each carrying a maximum sentence of three years imprisonment. Additionally, he is charged with three counts of wire fraud, each carrying a potential sentence of up to 20 years imprisonment.
U.S. Attorney Sullivan emphasized that an indictment is not evidence of guilt: "Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."
Currently, Telford is held in state custody for unrelated alleged criminal conduct.
The investigation is being conducted by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Levick and Susan Wines are prosecuting the case.
