SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — An 86-year-old accountant from Agawam has been convicted of embezzling $400,000 from a company after being hired to prepare its tax returns.

James Hansmann was spared prison time but sentenced to three years of probation at sentencing Thursday in U.S. District Court in Springfield. He was also ordered to pay more than $400,000 in restitution to his client and almost $87,000 to the Internal Revenue Service. Hansmann pleaded guilty in July 2013 to mail fraud and tax evasion.

Prosecutors say between 2007 and 2011, Hansmann instructed the West Springfield company’s president to make out checks for estimated tax payments that he promised he was transmitting to the Internal Revenue Service. Instead, Hansmann deposited the checks into his personal bank accounts and used the money to pay personal expenses.


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