A 60-year-old Whitman man accused of turning hundreds of gift cards meant for charity into a personal sports betting fund now faces five criminal counts, including money laundering, larceny over $1,200 and three charges of filing false or fraudulent tax returns. George Meegan, a former Granite Telecommunications employee, was arraigned on the charges earlier this month.
According to MassLive, Meegan is accused of embezzling more than $228,000 from his employer and laundering the money through legal sports betting accounts. Investigators allege that between January 2023 and June 2025, he used Granite Telecommunications operational and charitable credit cards to purchase roughly 460 gift cards worth $228,372.
How the Money Allegedly Moved
Investigators say nearly $113,000 of those gift cards were deposited into licensed sportsbook accounts, and at least $75,000 of that was later transferred into Meegan's personal bank accounts, per the same account from MassLive. Authorities also reported that nearly $40,000 in gift cards were redeemed through Meegan's own Verizon Wireless and Google accounts, rather than ever reaching the charitable causes they were purportedly bought for.
Granite Telecommunications addressed the case directly in a statement, saying its internal investigation found that Meegan used his company credit card to buy gift cards he falsely claimed he was donating to local charities. The company said it moved quickly once it uncovered the alleged scheme, noting in its release carried by PR Newswire that it “immediately alerted authorities after it discovered Meegan's scheme, and the company has cooperated fully with law enforcement investigators.”
Tax Charges Add to the Case
Beyond the larceny and laundering counts, Meegan is accused of failing to report the misappropriated funds on his state income tax returns for 2023, 2024 and 2025, the outlet's report indicates. Those omissions form the basis for the three fraudulent tax return charges included in the indictment.
Meegan was arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court on October 14 and released on personal recognizance, the article notes. As a condition of his release, he has been barred from participating in legal gaming or accessing charitable funds while the case proceeds.
A Familiar Pattern in Gift Card Embezzlement
Massachusetts law treats money laundering seriously: under Massachusetts General Laws, a conviction can carry up to six years in state prison or a fine, depending on the amount involved. It remains unclear how the case against Meegan will ultimately be resolved, and no plea or defense response has been made public.
Schemes built around company-purchased gift cards funneled into betting accounts aren't unique to Massachusetts. In a case reported by USA Today, Philip Lee Sullivan was sentenced to 118.5 months in prison after pleading no contest to six felony charges tied to an 11-month scheme in which he used company credit cards to buy gift cards and cash cards, ultimately stealing roughly $1.4 million from his employer. Sullivan said his wagers escalated from $25 bets to as much as $50,000, and he lost more than $2 million gambling before later taking a role directing Florida's 888-ADMIT-IT gambling addiction helpline in March 2025.
No trial date or sentencing date has been reported for Meegan, and it remains unknown how far his case will travel through the Suffolk County court system. For now, the five-count indictment stands as the only confirmed development in a case that Granite Telecommunications says it helped bring to investigators' attention.
