Springfield CPA pleads guilty to mail fraud, tax evasion

Murphy Hubbard, a Springfield certified public accountant, pleaded guilty March 22 to two counts of mail fraud and one count of tax evasion, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Through his now-defunct accounting and tax business, The Hubbard Group PC, Hubbard embezzled more than $400,000 from two trusts placed in his care between 1998 and 2009, the release said.

The trusts were set up by:

• Hazel Hirst, of Springfield, who designated four local charities as beneficiaries of her life's savings; and
• the heirs of Noel Rummens, of Rogersville, to pay educational expenses for Rummens' surviving heirs and relatives.

Instead of fulfilling the trustees' requests, Hubbard pocketed most of the money, using it to pay personal expenses, travel and buy automobiles and farm equipment, according to the release.

Most of the money taken from the trusts went unreported to the Internal Revenue Service, resulting in a tax loss of approximately $79,434.

As a result of his guilty plea, Hubbard was sentenced to 42 months in prison and agreed to pay full restitution to the victims.

The case is being prosecuted by DOJ Tax Division Trial Attorneys Michael Boteler and Mitchell Bober, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Mohlhenrich.  The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation.[[In-content Ad]]