Former Boston Police Officer Sentenced for Overtime Fraud

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Boston, MA — The United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts announced a former Boston Police officer, James Carnes, 61, of Canton, was sentenced in federal court for committing over $20,000 in overtime fraud while working at the Boston Police Department’s evidence warehouse. Carnes was sentenced to two years of supervised release, with the first six months to be served in home detention. He was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and $20,106 in restitution.

Carnes had pleaded guilty in April 2021 to charges of conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds.

Between July 2016 and February 2019, Carnes submitted fraudulent overtime slips for two types of overtime shifts at the evidence warehouse. The first, known as the "purge" shift, was intended for disposing of old, unneeded evidence during a 4-8 p.m. weekday shift. Carnes claimed to have worked the full shift but often left by 6 p.m. or earlier. The second type, called the "kiosk" shift, involved collecting old prescription drugs from police districts across Boston one Saturday a month for disposal. Carnes submitted slips indicating he worked eight-and-a-half-hour shifts but actually worked only three to four hours.

During the period of Carnes’ fraud, the Boston Police Department received annual benefits exceeding $10,000 from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Justice through various federal grants.

The sentencing was announced by Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy, along with Jodi Cohan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division, and Russell W. Cunningham, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Mid-Atlantic Region. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Grady of the Criminal Division.