BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — A judge in Bridgeport sentenced a Chester man to prison for embezzling $2 million from Hoffman's Gun Center in Newington, according to the U.S. Department of Justice Wednesday.
Evan Bozbin, 39, of Chester, was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after he pled guilty on Aug. 29 to interstate transmission of stolen money and tax evasion.
Citing documents and statements from court, the DOJ said Bozbin was a Hoffman's employee from July 2013 until December 2023 and became the head of information technology for the business in 2016.
In January 2016, Bozbin began stealing cash receipts from a safe in Hoffman's cash office, the DOJ said.
Prosecutors alleged Bozbin would show up to work early, before other employees, disconnect ethernet cables to the store's cameras that had views of the safe, and then take thousands of dollars in cash from the receipt pouches in the safe.
When he was done, Bozbin would return the pouches to the safe and reconnect the ethernet cables, the DOJ said. He would then allegedly deposit cash proceeds into his own bank accounts.
The DOJ said Bozbin and his former spouse deposited a total of $1,901,250 into his bank accounts with 287 cash deposits of stolen money from Hoffman's. He made seven cash purchases of cashier's checks that totaled $161,330.
Bozbin did not report his stolen income on his federal personal income tax returns for 2016-2022, the DOJ said.
The judge has ordered him to pay $2,062,580 in restitution and to work with the IRS to pay $436,178 in taxes, along with penalties and interest, the DOJ said.
Bozbin was released on a $50,000 bond and is expected to report to prison on Jan. 6.
The IRS Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation, according to the DOJ.
Sean Humphrey is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at shumphrey@fox61.com
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