Home St. Louis Press Releases 2009 Local Charity Organization Information Technology Manager Indicted on Mail and Tax Fraud Charges
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Local Charity Organization Information Technology Manager Indicted on Mail and Tax Fraud Charges

U.S. Attorney’s Office September 18, 2009
  • Eastern District of Missouri

ST. LOUIS, MO—Paul Steven Murphy was indicted on multiple charges involving a false invoice  scheme which defrauded his employer, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, of more than $510,000, and failing to report the money as income on his tax returns, Acting United States Attorney Michael W. Reap announced today.

Murphy was head of Information Technology (IT) for School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND), a religious and charitable organization in the City of St. Louis. His responsibilities included ordering and installing computer hardware and software. Murphy also established his own business known as PC House. Beginning in October 2000 and continuing until  December 2007, Murphy submitted invoices to SSND under the name PC House for goods and services which had not been rendered. These fraudulent invoices indicated on the face that Murphy approved their payment and would also indicate which accounting categories should be charged for the items billed. The indictment alleges that Murphy submitted PC House invoices totaling approximately $510,000 during the period 2000 through 2007.  Murphy used this money for travel to Las Vegas, India, and Hawaii; mortgage payments; jewelry; and restaurants.

Additionally, as alleged in the indictment, Murphy failed to report on his federal income tax returns for the years 2003 through 2007 the money he received through the submission of the false and fraudulent PC House invoices to SSND. The total amount of additional tax due for the four years 2003 through 2007 is approximately $112,330.

"Tax evasion is not a victimless crime," said Toni Weirauch, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation. "The Internal Revenue Code is specific, income derived from any source is subject to income tax."

PAUL STEVEN MURPHY, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on seven felony counts of mail fraud and five felony counts of filing false tax returns.

If convicted, each count of mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment; the tax charges each carry a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment.

Reap commended the work performed on the case by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Assistant United States Attorney Rosemary Meyers, who is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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