Ellington Woman Indicted In $250K Embezzlement Scheme

ELLINGTON, CT — An Ellington woman is accused of ripping off an employer, plus subsequent tax evasion, both to the tune of more than $250,000.

Marc H. Silverman,, acting United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, Anish Shukla, acting special agent in charge of the New Haven division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Harry Chavis, special agent in charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation unit in New England, announced Monday that a federal grand jury in Bridgeport has returned a 12-count indictment charging Heather Murdock, 57, of Ellington, with fraud and tax offenses stemming from an embezzlement scheme.

The indictment was returned on March 19, 2025 and the following day Murdock appeared before U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford, pleaded not guilty to the charges, and was released on a $40,000 bond.

According to the indictment, Murdock was employed as the bookkeeper and office manager at a Hartford law firm, identified in court documents as "Firm A." Between approximately 2010 and 2022, using Firm A’s bookkeeping software, Murdock generated hundreds of false checks made payable to herself and on which she forged the signature of Firm A's owner, according to the indictment. To conceal her embezzlement, Murdock doctored the bookkeeping system entries to make it appear that the checks had been issued to legitimate vendors, according to the indictment. Murdock deposited the forged checks into her own bank account, according to the indictment.

Murdock stole approximately $583,953 through this scheme, authorities said.

The indictment also claims that Murdock stole cash rental payments made by tenants of properties owned by Firm A's owner. To conceal her theft, Murdock generated false checks from Firm A's bank account payable to the account in which Firm A's owner received rental income, making it appear that the expected deposits of rental income had been made, and doctored references in the firm’s bookkeeping system, according to the indictment.

Murdock stole approximately $251,314 through the scheme, authorities said.

The indictment further charges that that Murdock failed to pay federal income taxes on the embezzled funds and her wages from Firm A for the 2013 through 2022 tax years, and that she substantially underreported her income in 2011 and 2012. Murdock’s underreported tax obligations total $248,294, according to the indictment.