Former State Representative John George Jr. Sentenced for Obstruction of Justice

A former Dartmouth Selectman was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with concealing approximately $2.5 million in cash from the U.S. District Court following his sentencing proceedings in 2015.

John George Jr., 71, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Senior Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to five months in prison, one year of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $250,000. In March 2018, George pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice.

In July 2015, George was sentenced to 70 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $688,772 and forfeiture of $1.38 million for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA). George was required to disclose his financial status to the Court, and reported that he only possessed approximately $28,000 in cash. However, in December 2015 and January 2016, federal law enforcement recovered more than $2.5 million in cash, as well as Rolex watches and jewelry that George had concealed in safe deposit boxes in New Bedford and Fairhaven.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Douglas Shoemaker, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Transportation, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations; Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; and U.S. Marshal John Gibbons for the District of Massachusetts made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Chao of Lelling’s Public Corruption Unit prosecuted the case.