Appeals Court Upholds Conviction Of North Andover Woman, Lover

NORTH ANDOVER, MA -- The Massachusetts Appeal Court issued two rulings this month upholding the conviction of a North Andover woman and her girlfriend, who were convicted of stealing $300,000 in 2013. On Jan. 15, the court rejected the appeal of Romi Kimell, 38, formerly of North Andover, of her conviction on one charge of larceny. On Tuesday, the court rejected the appeal of Shea Braune's appeal of her money laundering conviction.

Braune, 40, formerly of Wilmington, argued in her appeal that because she openly deposited money Kimell gave her into her checking account, prosecutors failed to establish the "concealment" portion needed for a money laundering conviction. Braune was also convicted of receiving stolen property.

Kimell had argued a transcript of a deposition from her bankruptcy filing should not have been admitted into evidence at her criminal trial. Both Braune and Kimell now live in San Diego, a move they made shortly after her mother and step father noticed the money missing from their North Andover home.

Kimell's stepfather owned a grocery store. Prosecutors alleged that Kimell stole $300,000 in cash he was storing in the family's North Andover home when he and her mother were at their winter home in Florida. Court documents say Kimell and Braune used the money to fund a "lavish lifestyle," and that some money was used to fund their abrupt move to California.

"In an ill-fated attempt to cover their tracks, Kimell gave a substantial amount of the stolen cash to Braune, who deposited it into her checking account through a series of transactions, each under $10,000, later claiming to have received the money in an inheritance," the appeals court noted in its rulin on Braune's appeal.

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Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).