Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
A Wakefield resident, Christiane Fischer, 42, was found guilty of money laundering conspiracy on November 24, 2025, after a six-day jury trial in Boston. U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley has set sentencing for March 5, 2026. Fischer was originally indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2022.
Fischer is the owner of PK Motor Cars, a used car dealership in Peabody that also offers car repairs and rentals. Authorities began investigating drug trafficker Phillip Morose in 2016 for distributing large quantities of counterfeit fentanyl pills.
During the trial, evidence showed that Fischer worked with Morose to launder proceeds from his drug sales through her business. In August 2016, she named Morose as CEO of PK Motor Cars. Afterward, Morose deposited nearly $1 million in cash into the business’s bank accounts. At the end of that year, Fischer used cashier’s checks from those accounts to purchase a house in Lynnfield for Morose. The property was bought under the name of her business to hide both its true ownership and the source of funds used for the purchase. Additionally, Fischer allowed Morose access to luxury vehicles owned by her company to help promote his drug trafficking activities.
Morose was sentenced in 2019 to 30 years in prison for drug trafficking and money laundering by a court in the Middle District of Florida. In March 2025, he received an additional sentence of 80 months for money laundering in Massachusetts; this term will run concurrently with his previous sentence.
The conviction for money laundering conspiracy carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine up to $500,000 or twice the amount laundered. Sentencing decisions are made by federal judges based on established guidelines and statutes.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley announced the conviction along with officials from several law enforcement agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF). The investigation also involved assistance from multiple local police departments across Massachusetts.
This prosecution is part of efforts under the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative created by Executive Order 14159. The HSTF brings together various federal and local agencies to combat criminal organizations operating within and outside U.S. borders.
