SALEM, N.H. (WHDH) - A New Hampshire police captain is facing criminal charges after authorities say he used his law enforcement discount to purchase dozens of rifles from a firearms academy and then resold them to earn a profit of more than $33,000.
Michael Wagner, 48, of Pelham, was arrested and charged in an indictment that was unsealed Thursday with one count of filing a false tax return, according to United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling. He is slated to appear in federal court in Boston via videoconference at 2:15 p.m.
Wagner, a captain with the Salem Police Department, purchased about 36 assault rifles from Sig Sauer Academy in Epping and resold them in 2013 to earn a profit of more than $33,000 that he purposely omitted from his tax return, the indictment alleges.
Investigators say Wagner used a 25 percent discount that Sig Sauer offered law enforcement officers, which increased his profit. He then allegedly directed a subordinate police officer to make a purchase of an assault rifle for him after Sig Sauer stopped giving him the discount.
The indictment further alleges that Wagner overstated his deductions in his 2013 tax return by falsely claiming more than $10,000 in reimbursed expenses for police equipment, ammunition, and firearms.
If convicted, Wagner faces a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $100,000.
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