Former Pepperell Man Charged With Bankruptcy Fraud

Boston – A former Pepperell man was charged with concealing $3 – $4 million in bankruptcy filings.

Cyril Gordon Lunn, 66, formerly of Pepperell, Mass., was charged in an indictment with concealing assets from his bankruptcy creditors and making a false statement in one of his bankruptcy schedules.

The case was originally indicted in September 2006, but it was unsealed today after Lunn was arrested by Canadian authorities.

According to the indictment, Lunn filed a bankruptcy petition in October 2001 in which he failed to disclose that he owned approximately $3 – $4 million in cash. From 1998 through September 2001, Lunn transferred the cash from the United States to Canada, and deposited some or all of the funds in safe deposit boxes in Canada. In May 2004, Lunn filed a civil suit in Canada in which he submitted affidavits and testified under oath concerning his ownership of approximately $3 – $4 million and the transfer of those funds from the United States to Canada in the years prior to 2002.

Lunn is also charged with making a false statement in one of his bankruptcy filings by falsely stating he had closed all safe deposit boxes by September 2001, when in fact. Lunn had failed to disclose a safe deposit box he had opened at the Granite Bank in New Hampshire, and which Lunn continued to access after the bankruptcy filing.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Balthazard of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit. The case was referred to the United States Attorney’s Office by the U.S. Trustee’s Office in Boston and Worcester.

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.