Gallison pleads guilty to federal fraud, identity theft, tax charges

FORMER HOUSE FINANCE Committee Chair Raymond E. Gallison Jr. plead guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Providence to federal mail fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and tax charges.  / COURTESY R.I. GENERAL ASSEMBLY
FORMER HOUSE FINANCE Committee Chair Raymond E. Gallison Jr. plead guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Providence to federal mail fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and tax charges. / COURTESY R.I. GENERAL ASSEMBLY

PROVIDENCE – Raymond E. Gallison Jr., the former R.I. House finance chairman, pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court to mail fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and tax charges, according to U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha and R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin.
Appearing before U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith, Gallison admitted to stealing and misusing both private and public money through an array of fraudulent schemes while serving as finance chairman, including theft from the estate of a deceased individual, theft of funds from a Special Needs Trust, falsifying tax documents and failing to pay taxes on income acquired through his criminal actions.
He plead guilty to four counts of federal mail fraud, one count of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, one count of aiding the filing of a false tax document and two counts of filing a false tax return.

Gallison admitted the following to the court at the time of his guilty plea:

  • While executing the estate of a deceased individual from Barrington who died in February 2012, Gallison executed various schemes to transfer cash, checks, stocks and real property belonging to the individual into his own name and bank accounts. The estate was valued at a total of $677,454,10.
  • Gallison triggered the filing of a false tax document on behalf of the nonprofit Alternative Education Programming, which provided educational programs to minority and/or disadvantaged students. Gallison was listed as assistant director of the nonprofit at the time. While the tax document listed that $77,957 in tuition and fees were paid to 47 students from July 2012 to June 2013, Gallison only paid $3,137.29 to assist two students during that time – while paying approximately $64,575 to himself and another individual.
  • Gallison defrauded a disabled person’s Special Needs Trust by writing a check from the Trust account for $8,900, which he deposited into an AEP account. He then wrote a check for $8,800 from the AEP account to pay an outstanding bill owed to the Community College of Rhode Island.
  • He failed to pay a total of $226,332.31 in taxes.

Gallison is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16, and faces a minimum of two years in federal prison based on statutory penalties.

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