FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	August 10, 2012
Docket #: 1:12-cr-0245 LJO SKO

FRESNO, Calif. — Maria Eusebia Vega, 51, of Ceres, was arraigned on Thursday in federal court after a grand jury indictment on August 2, 2012 that charged her with three counts of filing false tax returns, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

The indictment alleges that Vega, a real estate agent and a licensed mortgage broker who owned and operated Vega’s Financial Services, filed false joint individual federal income tax returns for her and her husband in April 2008 for tax years 2005, 2006, and 2007. From 2005 through 2007 Vega earned income from title companies and other real estate companies for work as a loan officer on mortgage transactions and as a real estate agent. Vega is charged with substantially underreporting both the income and the tax due for those years. Vega claimed a tax refund of $5,000 for 2005 and a tax refund of $11,298 for 2006. She claimed to owe only $766 in taxes for 2007, but the taxes due for these years actually totaled over $260,000.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk E. Sherriff is prosecuting the case.

At her arraignment, Vega entered a plea of not guilty and was released on a $30,000 bond. A status conference is set for September 17, 2012 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheila K. Oberto.

If convicted, Vega faces a maximum statutory penalty of three years in prison and a $100,000 fine. The actual sentence, if convicted, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

The charges are only allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

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