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Press Release

Blackstone Man Charged With Tax Crimes

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts
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BOSTON – A self-employed mason was charged today with filing false tax returns and cashing nearly $3 million in checks at a check cashing service and not reporting the income.

John W. Lippolis, 53, of Blackstone, Mass., was indicted on two counts of filing false tax returns and impeding the IRS.

The indictment alleges that when Lippolis, a self-employed mason, was paid by check for his services, instead of depositing the funds into a bank account, he used check cashing services to cash the checks and then reported only a fraction to the IRS. The indictment further alleges that Lippolis operated his business in cash, paid workers in cash, and requested that customers not write checks to him for amounts exceeding $10,000, which would trigger a reporting requirement for financial institutions which cashed the checks. In 2006, Lippolis cashed business checks for more than $1 million, but reported only $45,000 in gross receipts on his federal income tax return for that year. In 2007, Lippolis cashed checks totaling more than $580,000, but reported only $47,813 in gross receipts for that tax year. In other years, Lippolis did not file any income tax returns at all.

The charges of filing false tax return carry a statutory maximum penalty of three years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of impeding the IRS carries a statutory maximum penalty of three years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gain or loss, whichever is greater.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra S. Bower of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


Updated December 15, 2014