---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Lauren Horwood
January 24, 2011	PHONE: (916) 554-2706<
www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae	usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov
Docket #: 1:09-cr-0155 AWI

Arvin Man Sentenced to 9 Months in Prison for Fraudulent Income Tax Refund Scheme

                       FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that today
United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii sentenced Ernesto Garcia Gonzalez, 39, of Arvin,
to nine months in federal prison for submitting false income tax returns to the Internal Revenue
Service.

                       According to court documents, from February 2007 to December 2008, Gonzalez
submitted false federal individual income tax returns to the IRS in the names of third parties,
using false Form W-2s, and claiming fraudulent wages and withholdings in order to obtain
refunds. In many instances, the IRS issued tax refund checks based on the fraudulent tax returns.
Gonzalez put residences and P.O. boxes to which he had access on the income tax returns, and
when he received the tax refund check, he cashed it.

                       Gonzalez pleaded guilty on June 28, 2010 after he had repaid the IRS the full restitution
of $63,586.

                       This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the Internal Revenue Service,
Criminal Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Sherriff.

####

 

Return to Top