U.S. Charges Andover Attorney in $1 million Tax Fraud Scheme

An Andover attorney specializing in real estate closings and a co-conspirator were charged Tuesday with depositing almost $1 million in fraudulently obtained IRS refund checks into several different bank accounts, including the attorney’s trust account, in an effort to launder the proceeds.

R. David Cohen, 63, and Francisco Oscar “Frank” Grullon, 48, both of Andover at the time of the alleged crime, were indicted on charges of conspiracy, conversion and receipt of stolen United States property, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Cohen was previously arrested by complaint on Dec. 17.  Grullon is believed to be outside of the United States.

According the indictment and an affidavit filed in the case, the investigation identified a scheme in which individuals filed fraudulent tax returns with fictitious W-2 information, usually a name and social security number of a resident of Puerto Rico, whose residents are not required to file federal income tax returns.  Once the IRS accepted the fraudulent returns, refund checks were sent to designated addresses in Lawrence, East Boston and New York controlled by his co-conspirators.

Beginning in October, 2011, Cohen, Grullon and another co-conspirator deposited 152 fraudulently deposited tax refund checks totaling $993,677 into various local banks to launder them through Cohen’s “Interest On Lawyer’s Trust Accounts” (IOLTA), as well as through bank accounts in the name of AD Professional Association, Inc.  When questioned by bank officials about the large amount of third-party U.S. Treasury checks Cohen was depositing and negotiating through his IOLTA and personal accounts, Cohen falsely claimed that the payees were his clients.

The charge of conspiracy provides a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the loss or gain from the offense.  The charge of conversion and receipt of stolen U.S. property provides a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the loss or gain from the offense.  The charge of money laundering provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation William P. Offord made the announcement.  The case was also investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Secret Service. The case is being prosecuted by S. Theodore Merritt of Ortiz’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.