May 16, 2003

PRESS RELEASE

PEABODY MAN SENTENCED TO
TWO YEARS IN PRISON FOR TAX CRIMES

Boston, MA... United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan and Joseph A. Galasso, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, announced that late yesterday, ANDREW A. FILIPPONE, age 69, of Peabody, Massachusetts, was sentenced before the U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns to 2 years in prison for engaging in a scheme to impede the due administration of the Internal Revenue Laws. FILIPPONE pleaded guilty to the charges on February 11, 2003.

At the earlier plea hearing, a federal prosecutor told Judge Stearns that, had the case proceeded to trial, the government would have proven that FILIPPONE engaged in a course of conduct over the period of several years designed to evade the payment of income tax and employment tax liabilities of himself and corporations through which he conducted all his business. In 1990 and 1991, FILIPPONE and his corporations were assessed by the IRS employment taxes in an amount totaling over $150,000. From 1991 through 1998, FILIPPONE endeavored to prevent and obstruct the IRS from collecting the tax due and owing by: concealing the nature and extent of his and his related entities' income and assets; filing false schedules and documents with tax returns; making false statements to agents of the IRS; and placing income and assets in the names of nominees. FILIPPONE accomplished this in several ways, including: by cashing, through check-cashing services and individuals rather than banks, receipts of his corporations totaling over $1 million from 1994 through 1998; changing the names of his corporations to avoid IRS levies; and providing false information to the IRS. In total, FILIPPONE owed the IRS a total of $658,989.

The case was investigated by Special Agents of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Jonathan L. Kotlier, Chief of Sullivan's Economic Crimes Unit.

Press Contact: Samantha Martin, (617) 748-3139