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Lorraine Pilitz, age 65 of Merrick, received her 33-month sentence and orders for restitution on Friday, Jan. 19, the United States Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York announced.
Pilitz was the owner and operator of several car-related businesses on Long Island at the time of the crimes, which happened between 2011 and 2013, the USAO said.
The IRS requires that financial institutions file a Currency Transaction Report, or CTR, for every transaction over $10,000. However, Pilitz routinely structured her business deposits so that they would come in at just under that limit – and therefore wouldn’t need to be reported.
Because of this, hundreds of thousands of dollars were hidden from the IRS.
Pilitz also deposited hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of business checks into her and her family’s personal bank accounts.
In addition, the USAO’s Office said she maintained “off-the-books” payrolls, filed false personal and corporate tax returns, and severely underrepresented her income on the tax returns she did file.
“For years Pilitz thought she could get away with hiding substantial amounts of cash and income, impeding the Internal Revenue Service, and cheating her employees,” said US Attorney Breon Peace.
“Today’s sentence sends a message to the defendant and others who place greed above following the law.”
Pilitz was convicted of the charges against her after a two-week trial in November 2022.
Besides her prison sentence, she will need to pay $324,702.78 in restitution to the IRS and give up a commercial property she owned in Lindenhurst.
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