BOSTON — Twelve people, including residents of Lynn and Revere, and three stores in Chelsea, Boston, and North Reading have been indicted in connection with an ongoing scheme to rob the state of tax revenue by laundering lottery winnings and lying under oath on numerous lottery claim forms.
The charges are the result of an investigation into a calculated scheme carried out by the defendants to defraud the state of taxes on lottery winnings and other debts owed to the commonwealth, according to Attorney General Maura Healey, who announced the indictments on Tuesday.
The investigation was carried out by State Police assigned to the Attorney General’s office and the State treasurer’s Office of Investigations, the State Police Gaming Enforcement Division, and the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission (MSLC).
The 12 defendants were indicted Friday by a statewide grand jury on multiple charges in connection with the lottery scheme. The defendants are:
— Frank Obey, 80, of Lynn, is charged with two counts of false statement under penalty of perjury, conspiracy to evade taxes, attempting to impede/obstruct administration of Massachusetts tax laws, and money laundering.
— MDGolam Talukder-Manik, 57, a resident of Lynn and an employee of the Richland Convenience Store located at 332 Nahant Road in Nahant, is charged with conspiracy to evade taxes.
— Kenneth Grossman, 69, of Revere, is charged with conspiracy to evade taxes, attempting to impede/obstruct administration of Massachusetts tax laws, and money laundering.
— William McNamara, 67, of Revere, is charged with false statement under penalty of perjury, conspiracy to evade taxes, attempting to impede/obstruct administration of Massachusetts tax laws, and money laundering.
— John Heller, 73, of Revere, is charged with conspiracy to evade taxes.
— Adam Derebala, 29, of Revere, is charged with failure to file a tax return.
— Peter Marano, 52, of Boston, is charged with tax evasion.
— Karl Voelker, 67, of Boston, is charged with conspiracy to evade taxes.
— Paritosh Patel, 48, of Reading, is charged with conspiracy to evade taxes.
— Nelson Tejada, 43, of Chelsea, is charged with conspiracy to evade taxes.
— Ghanshyam Patel, 45, a resident of Malden and an employee of Robinson’s News Convenience Store located at 1556 Eastern Ave. in Malden, is charged with conspiracy to evade taxes.
— Muhammad Khan, 52, a resident of Medford and employee of Grab N Go located at 367 Washington Ave in Chelsea, is charged with conspiracy to evade taxes.
— Underground Express at 31 Winter Place in Boston is charged with conspiracy to evade taxes.
— Richdale at 4 Lowell Road in North Reading is charged with conspiracy to evade taxes.
— NT Lucky Variety at 137 Arlington St. in Chelsea is charged with conspiracy to evade taxes.
The Attorney General’s Office alleges that from April 2020 through May 2021, the defendants, who are ticket-cashers, store owners, or employees, purchased winning lottery tickets from the true winners for cash, at a discount value.
The scheme is known as the “10-percenting,” a practice in which individuals claim winning lottery tickets and retain a percentage of winnings. This arrangement allows the true winners to avoid financial obligations, including state and federal taxes, prosecutors said.
The store owners and employees would then funnel the winning tickets to Obey, Grossman, and their runners, prosecutors said.
The defendants presented the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission with false claim forms in which they declared, under the penalties of perjury, that the winnings were their own, prosecutors said.
Two of the true winners, Marano and Derebala, were identified and charged with tax evasion and failing to file a tax return, respectively. Both are alleged to have circumvented the legal ticket-claiming process.
This investigation also identified Obey, Grossman, and McNamara as people who were using the Massachusetts State Lottery to launder money.
The defendants will be arraigned on their respective charges in Suffolk Superior Court at a later date.
