Former Newton Attorney Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement

NEWTON, MA – A former Newton attorney pleaded guilty Monday to wire fraud and filing false tax returns, admitting to using embezzled funds from trusts to pay for a car and a Vermont vacation home, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Kevin M. Brill, 61, of Newton, pleaded guilty to six counts of wire fraud and four counts of filing false tax returns. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 5.

From 2012 to 2017, Brill served as a trustee for three family trusts with funds held at Morgan Stanley Bank. As trustee, Brill had fiduciary responsibilities to protect and preserve the funds of the trusts and make expenditures for the benefit of each beneficiary. As part of his embezzlement scheme, Brill created new accounts at Santander Bank through which he funneled funds he withdrew from the trust accounts. Over the course of the six-year scheme, Brill embezzled and misappropriated more than $600,000 from the various trusts and used the proceeds on personal expenses such as a personal vehicle, a vacation home in Vermont and to pay for his personal credit card expenses.

In addition, Brill failed to report his illegal income to the IRS, thereby avoiding payment of more than $169,000 that he owed in federal income taxes.

He faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for the charge of wire fraud and up to three years in prison and the same fine for the charge of filing false tax returns.