Three Indicted for Supplying Unqualified Armed Guards to IRS Facilities in Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a 42-count indictment on Thursday against Scott L. Carlton, 46, of Visalia; Robert J. Bejarano, 46, of Kingsburg; and Matthew L. Cocola, 44, of Fresno, charging each defendant with conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims and false statements, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, the IRS’s Fresno campus serves as national center for processing federal tax returns. Carlton and Bejarano were employees of E&A Protective Services, which had the government contract to supply 24-hour-a-day armed security guards to the IRS’s Fresno campus. Cocola was a certified firearms instructor doing business as Security Solutions of California & The Praetorian Diversified Institute in Clovis. When it became apparent that many of the guards could not achieve the firearms shooting score required under the contract, the indictment alleges that Carlton, Bejarano and Cocola conspired to falsify scores and supply unqualified guards to the IRS facilities. Over a three-year period, E&A was paid over $2 million on fraudulent invoices submitted to the IRS for security guards who were not qualified to work under that contract.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Assistant United States Attorney Mark J. McKeon is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy defraud the government with respect to claims, and five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count of false statements. 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. The charges are only allegations; each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.