Lesely J. and Aljournia Moore - Page 15




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               b.   Dealing in Cash                                                   
               Throughout the 4 years at issue, petitioners made numerous             
          and substantial cash expenditures for, among other things, real             
          property, new luxury automobiles, payments on credit cards,                 
          mortgages, and a host of other personal items.  Petitioners kept            
          large amounts of cash in both their residence and at Moore’s                
          Auto.  Petitioners’ extensive use of cash supports a reasonable             
          inference that petitioners were knowingly and willfully                     
          attempting to conceal taxable income.  See Clayton v.                       
          Commissioner, supra at 647.                                                 
               c.   Participation in Illegal Activity                                 
               Lesely pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in illegal              
          gambling from 1987 through June 1994 under 18 U.S.C. section                
          1955.  While Aljournia might not have participated in illegal               
          numbers operations, the evidence indicates that she knew or                 
          should have known of Lesely’s involvement.  During the 1994                 
          raid, North Carolina law enforcement officers found both lottery            
          tickets and large amounts of currency in petitioners’                       
          residence.4  Moreover, Aljournia should have known that the cash            

               4 In her testimony, Aljournia offered inconsistent and                 
          implausible explanations, conceding at one point that lottery               
          tickets were found in her residence but contending they were                
          planted there by the law enforcement officials, and at another              
          point contending, contrary to the evidence, that only one lottery           
          ticket was found.  With regard to the $7,452 in currency found in           
          her residence, Aljournia argued that “I should be able to have a            
          few pennies around my house”, contending unconvincingly that the            
                                                             (continued...)           





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