Fresno Fugitive Apprehended By Marshals, Faces Tax Fraud Charges

FRESNO, Calif. — Gaylene Lynette Bolanos, 56, of Fresno, was apprehended Tuesday by the United States Marshals Service in Fresno, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

Bolanos was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2013 with seven other defendants for claiming more than $32 million in fraudulent tax refunds. Throughout the court proceedings, Bolanos has filed documents with the court claiming that she does not accept the authority of the United States government.

After her arraignment in October 2013, the court ordered Bolanos released from custody on a $5,000 bond and ordered to report on a regular basis to the Pretrial Services Office. In August 2014, Bolanos failed to report to Pretrial Services. She was ordered to appear for a bail review hearing on August 28, 2014, but failed to appear and did not respond to Pretrial Services’ attempts to contact her. As a result, the court issued a warrant for her arrest. After searching for Bolanos for several weeks, the United States Marshals Service was able to locate and arrest Bolanos in Fresno.

Bolanos appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe today and was ordered detained as a flight risk.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Grant B. Rabenn and Megan A. S. Richards are prosecuting the case.

The charges against Bolanos are only allegations; she is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, Bolanos faces 10 years in prison for the conspiracy charge and five years in prison on each false claims charge. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.