Cape & Islands News

Cape woman convicted of money laundering, tax evasion

A Centerville woman was sentenced yesterday afternoon in federal court for money laundering and tax convictions.

United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan; Joseph A. Galasso, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation; Colonel Thomas G. Robbins, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, and John Finnigan, Chief of the Barnstable Police Department, announced that LynnAlberico, age 43, of 68 Old Farm Road, Centerville, Massachusetts, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris to 27 months in federal prison to be followed by 2 years supervised release. Judge Saris also orderedAlberico to forfeit $100,000. Alberico was convicted on July 18, 2005, by a jury of conspiracy to commit money laundering, making and subscribing to a false tax return, and failure to file a tax return.

Evidence presented during the nine-day trial proved that on July 9, 1997, Stephen Queen, formerly of Hyannis, illegally obtained over $900,000 in cash from his parents' safe deposit boxes in Florida. Mr. Queen returned to Hyannis, on July 12, 1997 with the cash. The evidence proved thatAlberico , along with her now ex-boyfriend, George Upton, stole the money from Mr. Queen and subsequently laundered a portion of it through the purchase of real estate at 89 Iyanough Road in Hyannis. The evidence also proved that on August 29, 1997,Alberico and Upton purchased a commercial property at 89 Iyanough Road in Hyannis with the stolen money. The property was purchased with 13 separate cashier's checks that were acquired byAlberico , Upton, and four other individuals recruited by Upton. The cashier's checks were purchased through a series of convoluted currency transactions, involving structured deposits in amounts below $10,000, deposits into individual and business bank accounts, and cash purchases. In addition, the evidence proved thatAlberico and Upton put a phony mortgage on the property in order to conceal the purchase of the property with cash.

The evidence also established that of the $900,000 stolen, Alberico received approximately $100,000 of it. She did not report this additional income on her 1997 federal tax return, but instead reported an adjusted gross income of $17,341 from her business, Alberico's Alteration and Tailoring. In 1999, whenAlberico and Upton sold 89 Iyanough Road, Alberico received approximately $39,000 of the profit. The evidence showed that despite this profit, Alberico did not file an income tax return at all in 1999.

Co:defendent Upton sentenced to 13^1/2 years last October 

Her co-defendant, George Upton, age 51, of 88 Yarmouth Road, Hyannis, Massachusetts, was convicted of all charges following a jury trial in October, 2004, and was sentenced to 13^1/2 years' imprisonment for the charges. He was also ordered to forfeit over $395,000.

The disappearance and presumed homicide of Stephen Queen remains under active investigation.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, the Massachusetts State Police, and the Barnstable Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William Bloomer in Sullivan's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Unit. Please make yourcomment below. Source: Yahoo.