East Hartford Resident Charged with Obstructing Tax Laws

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, William Kalb, Special Agent in Charge for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), and Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment today charging RAYMOND McLAUGHLIN, also known as “Shakir Ra Ade Bey” and “Shakir Ade Bey,” 34, of East Hartford, with one count of obstructing the administration of federal tax laws, and one count of making a false statement.

McLAUGHLIN was arrested yesterday on a federal criminal complaint and is detained. An arraignment and bond hearing is scheduled for June 12 at 3:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joan G. Margolis in New Haven.

As alleged in court documents, in March 2009, McLAUGHLIN and his wife refinanced the mortgage for their East Hartford residence, taking out a $233,371 refinancing loan. McLAUGHLIN and his wife failed to make a single mortgage payment for approximately six years thereafter while they resided in the home. In April 2011, the mortgage holder filed a foreclosure lawsuit in state court and, in December 2012, Judge Robert F. Vacchelli granted an Order of Foreclosure against McLAUGHLIN. On April 23, 2014, Judge Vacchelli denied the eleventh of McLAUGHLIN’s motions to vacate, reopen or otherwise set aside the foreclosure judgment. The next day, McLAUGHLIN mailed packages containing documents related to his foreclosure proceedings to both the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., and the Internal Revenue Service in Austin, Texas. The packages included IRS Forms 1099-OID and 1099-A for the 2014 tax year that falsely claimed that McLAUGHLIN had paid $332,204.25 to Judge Vacchelli and the Connecticut state courts. The packages also contained an IRS Form 1096 on which McLAUGHLIN stated and declared under the penalties of perjury that he had examined the submissions and that they were true, correct and complete, when, in fact, he knew that he had not made a payment of any kind to either Judge Vacchelli or the courts.

If convicted of the charges, MCLAUGHLIN faces a maximum term of imprisonment of eight years.

U.S. Attorney Daly stressed that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry Kopel.