Police on Thursday arrested a Connecticut bookkeeper on felony charges in connection with the theft of about $24,000 from a New Canaan client.
Joseph Parker, 30, of East Haddam, was charged with first-degree larceny and second-degree forgery.
He is believed to have taken about $500,000 in all, defrauding clients while doing business as Joseph Parker Tax Services, according to a police report. The case remains open and future arrests are “imminent,” according to police.
From late 2017 through 2018, he used his access to clients’ financial information and methods such as double-billing and credit card fraud to siphon money without his clients’ knowledge, according to the report.
His clients were located throughout the state, and law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation include the Connecticut State Police as well as the East Haddam, Old Saybrook, Essex and New Canaan Police Departments, the report said.
He was held on $25,000 bond and scheduled to appear Oct. 24 in state Superior Court in Norwalk. Parker has not yet pleaded and his next court date is Nov. 25, Judicial Branch records show.