Former Attorney Sentenced for Embezzlement and Tax Charges

BOSTON – A former attorney was sentenced today in connection with a long-running scheme to embezzle funds from trusts for which he served as trustee.

Kevin M. Brill, 61, of Newton, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Judge Mark L. Wolf to two years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $15,000. Brill was also ordered to pay restitution of $381,662 to the victims and $169,000 to the IRS. On Jan. 11, 2021, Brill pleaded guilty to six counts of wire fraud and four counts of filing false tax returns.

From 2012 to July 2017, Brill served as a trustee for three family trusts with fiduciary responsibilities to protect and preserve the trust funds and make expenditures for the benefit of the beneficiary. Instead, Brill embezzled and misappropriated more than $600,000 from the trusts and used the proceeds for personal expenses including the purchase of a vehicle, a vacation home in Vermont, major renovations to the vacation home, and his personal credit card bills.

In addition, Brill failed to report his illegal income to the IRS, thereby avoiding payment of more than $169,000 that he owed in federal income taxes.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor A. Wild of Mendell’s Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.