Nassau Woman Guilty Of Obstructing IRS, Falsifying Tax Returns: Feds

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — A Merrick woman was found guilty on all five counts charging her with illegally structuring financial transactions and corruptly obstructing the Internal Revenue Service.

Lorraine Pilitz, 64, also known as "Lorraine Christie, was also found guilty of falsifying tax returns by a federal jury in Central Islip.

"For years the defendant thought she could get away with hiding substantial amounts of cash and income, impeding the Internal Revenue Service, and cheating her employees, but the jury saw through the lies and has held her responsible for her actions," stated United States Attorney Breon Peace. "Business owners who place greed above following the rule of law will face the consequences."

As proven at trial, Pilitz owned and operated several automobile-related businesses on Long Island. Financial institutions are required to file a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) with the IRS for each transaction in excess of $10,000. Between 2011 and 2013, the defendant routinely structured cash deposits to avoid the required CTR filings – depositing cash amounts just under $10,000. As a result of Pilitz’s scheme, hundreds of thousands of dollars were concealed from the IRS, Peace's office said.

"Lorraine Pilitz set up a complicated scheme to hide hundreds of thousands of dollars from the IRS by grossly underreporting her income and having an ‘off-the-books’ payroll," said Thomas Fattorusso, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-CI New York.

More than a decade ago, Pilitz, reportedly, faced similar charges from the Nassau County District Attorney related to scamming an insurance company out of more than $12,000.

She worked for an autobody shop in Rockville Centre at the time.