Russians In Andover Ran International Shipping Scheme: Police

ANDOVER, MA — A Russian couple admitted to running an international shipping scheme in Andover, authorities announced Friday. Anastasia Bulavchenko, 45, and Sergey Bulavchenko, 48, recently pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges in Salem Superior Court and were sentenced to two years probation. They have been allowed to live in Russia during that time, prosecutors said.

The Bulavchenkos admitted to running a company called "UNEOL" which would reship packages to customers who needed a U.S.-based address for certain online purchases.

"This reshipment enterprise would receive packages on behalf of persons located in other countries," Essex County Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said in a statement. "The persons located in other countries would provide the Andover residence as the shipping address for their online purchases. UNEOL would receive the packages, and then reship the packages to the person overseas. Those persons would pay a fee for the UNEOL services, which included receiving telephone calls and other aspects of the transactions that required a U.S.-based presence."

The Bulavchenkos failed to pay income taxes for several years, Blodgett added.

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