A Lawrence man was recently sentenced in federal court in Boston for money laundering, transacting in criminally-derived property and theft of public funds.

Leonardo Lara, 36, was sentenced to 15 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $67,871. Lara pleaded guilty to two counts of laundering monetary instruments, two counts of transacting in criminally-derived property and five counts of theft of government funds in March 2017.

On at least 10 occasions between January and March 2012, Lara converted fraudulent United States Treasury tax refund checks for his own use. In total, he converted at least $67,871 in government funds for his own use.

Additionally, on two occasions, Lara purchased property in Lawrence through transactions designed to conceal the nature and source of his proceeds. He purchased a cashier’s check in the amount of $56,574 and used it to purchase property. The funds were withdrawn from an account controlled by Lara and held in the name of JZE LLC, a bank account funded, at least in part, by structured cash deposits, and the funds withdrawn from the bank had been derived, at least in part, from Lara’s theft of public funds. Lara later purchased another cashier’s check for $60,657 and used it to purchase another property in Lawrence.

He was also involved in certain drug activity involving the distribution of oxycodone pills. Over a two-year period, approximately $475,000 was deposited into accounts controlled by Lara, none of which was explained by any legitimate sources of income.