Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID), announce the unsealing of a forty-two count indictment against defendant Maurice Rodriguez, of North Miami Beach, Florida, on charges that he willfully filed false personal income tax returns and aided in the preparation of numerous false federal income tax returns. Defendant Rodriguez had his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert L. Dubé in Miami, Florida.

According to the indictment, defendant Rodriguez knowingly and willfully made and subscribed a false Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns, for calendar years 2005 and 2006. Rodriguez is charged with under-reporting his true gross receipts in 2005 and 2006 and filing the tax returns with the IRS knowing that the returns were not accurate as to every material matter, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206 (1).

The indictment also charges Rodriguez with forty counts of assisting and advising in the preparation and presentation of fraudulent income tax returns to the IRS, in violation of 26 U.S.C. Section 7206(2). The indictment alleges that Rodriguez prepared and caused to be submitted United States Individual Tax Returns claiming tax refunds on behalf of various taxpayers, knowing that these returns contained materially false information. Specifically, Rodriguez knew that the tax returns falsely represented, among other things, the taxpayers’ income, tax withholdings, and allowable deductions and expenses, including unreimbursed employee business expenses and other job-related expenditures.

If convicted, Rodriguez faces a maximum statutory term of imprisonment of up to three years for each count of filing false individual tax returns and three years as to each of the preparation and presentation of fraudulent income tax return counts.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Wood.

An indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.