PEABODY — School Committee member Jarrod Hochman, a candidate for city councilor-at-large, owes more than $50,000 to the Internal Revenue Service, according to records obtained by the Item.
Documents filed at the South Essex Registry of Deeds reveal the 49-year-old attorney with a private practice in Revere owes small business taxes for three years. For 2013, the amount was $34,704, for 2014 it’s an added $6,027, and in 2016 the tab was $9,670, for a total of $50,431.
The IRS has placed two liens on Hochman’s 2,508-square-foot Garrison style home. Liens protect the government’s interest in the real estate, personal property and financial assets of the person who owes the debt.
He and his ex-wife purchased the eight-room, single-family house in 2002 for $345,000, according to the Registry of Deeds. The home was transferred to Hochman as the sole owner in 2013 for $100.
The controversy comes as Hochman seeks to leave the School Committee for a seat on the council. A spot became available when City Councilor-at-Large David Gravel decided not to seek re-election. The four incumbents, Thomas Gould, Anne Manning-Martin, Thomas Rossignoll and Ryan Melville, are seeking reelection.
In addition to Hochman, they will also face Ward 1 Councilor Jon Turco, who is giving up his seat to run, and retired Peabody Police Capt. John DeRosa Jr.
Elected to the School Committee in 2009, Hochman is making his second bid for City Council. He lost a close race to Edward Charest for the open Ward 4 council seat four years ago by four votes.
Hochman declined requests for an interview and did not return calls seeking clarification.
In a statement, the three-term School Committeeman blamed another person for the debt. But he declined to provide contact information for that person.
“I can assure you that I am in contact with the IRS in an effort to resolve this matter,” he wrote. “This lien does not have to do with an inability to pay, but rather an effort to determine who is responsible for this debt and in what amount.”
In the two-page statement, Hochman referred to a reprimand he received from the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers in 2015. The agency, established by the Supreme Judicial Court, investigates complaints against attorneys.
“I am not perfect, I never claimed to be, and I am unaware of anyone who is,” he wrote.
The first matter involved a couple who hired Hochman to file for bankruptcy. He used software designed for such cases, but failed to ensure the totals were correctly calculated, the panel said. As a result, the court dismissed the couple’s case.
The Board found Hochman’s failure to represent the couple competently violated Professional Rules of Conduct.
In the second case, Hochman was retained to increase visitation time with a client’s children and to decrease the amount he paid in child support. While Hochman told his client he had filed the complaint, he did not, the board found.
The cases led the board to issue a public reprimand by placing notices in local newspapers.
Today, Hochman is an attorney in good standing, the agency said.
Voters will select five at-large councilors in the final election on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
