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On Friday, Dec. 11, former State Police Sergeant William W. Robertson of Westborough, and former MSP Lieutenant Daniel J. Griffin of Belmont were arrested and charged in federal court in Boston, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Massachusets, said.
Robertson, 58, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of theft concerning a federal program, and four counts of wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Griffin, 57, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of theft concerning a federal program, eight counts of wire fraud, and 11 coins of assisting in filing false tax returns, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
“The defendants were members of the law enforcement community which is incredibly troubling,” Acting IRS Special Agent in Charge Joleen Simpson said in a statement. “The residents of Massachusetts put their trust in the defendants to uphold the law, and that trust was broken. But let me be absolutely clear. These charges should in no way be a reflection on the more than 2,000 Massachusetts troopers who serve the Commonwealth with honor and integrity every day.”
Robertson and Griffin are accused of embezzling thousands of dollars, 2015-2018, by claiming payment for overtime shifts that they regularly arrived late to and/or left early. The overtime funds allegedly targeted by officers at the State Police Headquarters in Framingham were from a federal program meant to improve traffic safety, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Once the embezzlement came to light in 2017 and 2018, Robertson and Griffin along with some colleagues, allegedly attempted to cover their tracks by destroying evidence.
Griffin is also accused of using his time on the clock as a State Trooper to run his own security business, KnightPro.
Furthermore, Griffin is charged with defrauding a private school attended by two of his children from at least 2016 to 2019, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Griffin allegedly did not report KnightPro income on applications for financial aid, which allowed him to collect more than $175,000 in financial aid from the school over several years.
The former officers are facing sentences of up to 20 years in prison, $250,000 in fines, and supervised release for the wire fraud charges alone.
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