BOSTON — Nahant resident Pamela Avedisian pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States in federal court on Wednesday. Avedisian allegedly worked in concert with Winthrop resident Gary DeCicco, who also pleaded guilty to the same charges.
Between April 2012 and February 2013, according to the Department of Justice, DeCicco made multiple claims to the IRS that he was unable to pay his tax liability of more than $340,000 due to a lack of assets. However, it was discovered that he had ownership interests in several businesses, vehicles, and real properties titled in his name and the names of Avedisian, Lynnway Auto Sales Inc., and others for the purpose of concealing those assets from the IRS.
After the IRS agreed to a monthly payment plan for DeCicco that was negotiated under false pretenses, he reportedly bought and sold numerous properties, boats, and cars and continued to cover up those assets and his income from the IRS, often with Avedisian’s assistance, according to the department.
In October 2015, Avedisian and DeCicco allegedly conspired to defraud the mortgage holder of Avedisian’s Nahant property, which at the time was subject to a mortgage of more than $1 million. The pair proposed a sale of the property to a bank for less than the outstanding mortgage balance, in exchange for the bank to relieve the owner from paying the remaining amount.
“In order to get approval for the sale, DeCicco and Avedisian concealed their long-term romantic and business relationships from the loan-servicing company and falsely represented that Avedisian could no longer make payments towards the mortgage on the property,” the Department of Justice said in a press release. “Just two months before the ‘short sale’ closed, Avedisian purportedly received $3.5 million from the sale of another asset to DeCicco.”
The duo was first indicted in January 2018.
The charges could potentially result in a prison sentence of up to five years, followed by three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. DeCicco’s sentencing is set for Sept. 18, while Avedisian’s has not yet been scheduled.
