Ex-BPD sergeant becomes 5th officer sentenced for overtime fraud scheme [Video]

A former Boston police sergeant was sentenced in federal court in Boston last week for his role in a long-running overtime fraud scheme at the department’s evidence warehouse, acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua S. Levy’s office announced Tuesday.

George Finch, 62, of Franklin, was sentenced to three years of probation, followed by six months to be served in home detention, Levy’s office said in a statement. Finch, who pleaded guilty in 2021 to conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds, was also ordered to pay $11,310 in restitution.

Between at least March 2015 and December 2016, Finch submitted false and fraudulent overtime slips for overtime shifts he did not work at the evidence warehouse.

The first type of shift Finch claimed to work, known as “purge” overtime, was a 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. weekday shift for disposing of …