SAN FRANCISCO – On Tuesday, a federal grand jury in San Francisco returned and indictment charging Rosa Lee Banuelos with one count of assisting in the filing of a false tax return and two counts of filing a false tax return, United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agent in Charge Marcus Williams, announced.

According to the indictment, Banuelos assisted in the preparation of her 2004 U.S. joint individual income tax return. The return was false and fraudulent, in that it reported $701,004 in gross receipts for her Modesto-based company, “Property Maintenance and Painting,” when the defendant knew the gross receipts for that company were greater than reported. The indictment further alleges that on her 2005 and 2006 tax returns, Banuelos willfully and knowingly subscribed to U.S. joint individual income tax returns that she did not believe to be true and correct. For 2005 and 2006, the income tax returns reported gross receipts of $952,820 and $843,977, respectively, from Property Maintenance and Painting. Banuelos knew the gross receipts or sales for that company were greater than that reported.

The maximum statutory penalty for filing a false tax return and assisting in the filing of a false tax return, in violation of Title 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1) and 7206(2) is three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Cynthia Stier is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kathy Tat. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by IRS-CI.

Please note, an indictment contains only allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, Banuelos must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

(Rosa Lee Banuelos indictment )

 

 

 

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