Hartford Attorney Deron Freeman Could Face 6 Years in Prison for Alleged Tax Fraud
Charged with filing false tax returns over a two-year period, attorney Deron Freeman pleaded not guilty in federal court Tuesday. He faces up to six years in prison.
September 10, 2019 at 04:11 PM
3 minute read
Hartford attorney Deron Freeman. Courtesy photo
Hartford criminal defense attorney Deron Freeman pleaded not guilty late Tuesday afternoon to two counts of filing false tax returns.
Bridgeport-based U.S. Magistrate Judge William Garfinkel set bond at $100,000, and Freeman posted it.
Freeman, 45, faces up to six years in prison. He will next appear in court Nov. 4, when jury selection is scheduled to begin.
On Friday, a New Haven grand jury indicted Freeman, a Glastonbury and West Hartford resident who founded the Freeman Law Firm in 2002. Freeman's firm, according to its website, has three attorneys in practice areas that include criminal defense, auto accidents, wrongful death and workers' compensation.
According to the three-page indictment, Freeman underreported his income on his 2011 and 2012 tax returns. The indictment says he claimed a salary of $76,759 for 2011 and $64,911 for the following year, but the prosecutors did not elaborate on the extent of the alleged underreporting.
The attorney "knew and believed his taxable income was materially higher," according to the indictment.
Freeman's attorney, Brian Spears of Southport-based Spears Manning & Martini, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Freeman's older brother, Justin, was sentenced May 1 to eight months in prison, one year of supervised release and ordered to pay a $4,000 fine for filing false tax returns. Prosecutors say 47-year-old Justin Freeman, who like his brother operated his own practice, omitted more than $1.2 million in income.
While the government has not detailed what Deron Freeman allegedly did with the money the Internal Revenue Service was supposed to have gotten, it did outline what his brother is said to have done.
The government said Justin Freeman, who reported to prison on July 1, lived a lavish lifestyle. Among other things, the government said, he owned three houses, a boat and six luxury cars: a Ferrari, Maserati, BMW, Mercedes and two Cadillac Escalades.
According to the November plea agreement between the government and Justin Freeman, the attorney reported $476,228 in total income for 2010, but actually earned $860,041. For 2011, he reported $410,002 in total income while earning nearly $1.1 million, and in 2012, the government said, he reported $529,673 but took in $696,559.
The IRS' Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case of both brothers. Prosecuting both cases is Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Wines.
The case of Deron Freeman has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Victor Bolden.
Related stories:
Hartford Attorney Sentenced to 8 Months' Imprisonment for Filing False Tax Returns
Hartford Attorney Suspended for Filing False Tax Returns Omitting $1M
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