Former Bookkeeper for Veterans Services Organization Pleads Guilty to Fraud, Tax Offenses

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CYNTHIA TANNER, 54, of Darien, pleaded guilty today in Hartford federal court to fraud and tax evasion offenses stemming from her embezzlement of approximately $800,000 from a Connecticut-based veterans services organization.

According to court documents and statements made in court, TANNER was employed as a bookkeeper for the National Veterans Service Fund (“NVSF”) located in Darien.  The stated mission of the NVSF was to provide case managed social services and limited medical assistance to Vietnam and Persian Gulf War veterans and their families, with a focus on families with disabled children.  From approximately January 2009 through June 2014, TANNER used nearly $800,000 in NVSF funds to pay various personal expenses for her and her family members.  She also altered records to conceal her scheme and by falsely claiming that the stolen monies were being paid to veterans in need.

In addition, TANNER failed to report $794,768.47 in embezzled income on her 2009 through 2013 federal tax returns, resulting in a tax loss of $270,026.

TANNER pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and one count of tax evasion, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.  She is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton on March 11, 2016.

TANNER was arrested on related state charges on June 2, 2014.  She is released on a $50,000 bond.

This investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Secret Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and Darien Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas P. Morabito.