Salinas Resident Sentenced To Five Years In Prison For Tax Scheme

SAN JOSE – Jacqueline Ramos, also known as Jackie Acosta, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison, and ordered to pay $1,641,610 in restitution, for her role in a tax fraud conspiracy, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson, and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter.  The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Lucy H. Koh, U.S. District Judge. 

According to court filings, Ramos, 49, of Salinas, Calif., conspired with her codefendants to obtain the personal identifying information of others, and to use that information to file hundreds of fraudulent income tax returns with the IRS during 2011 and 2012.  The returns reported fake wages and fraudulently claimed dependents, education expenses, and tax credits.  Judge Koh determined that the returns sought more than $1.6 million in refunds from the IRS.  Ramos and her coconspirators directed the IRS to send some of the fraudulently obtained refunds to bank accounts they controlled.

On July 13, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Ramos, charging her with one count of conspiracy to submit false claims, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 286, and two counts of bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344(2).  She pleaded guilty to all three counts on October 17, 2018.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Koh also ordered Ramos to pay $1,641,610 in restitution to the United States.  Judge Koh also ordered forfeiture in the amount of $736,592, and ordered Ramos to serve three years of supervised release.  The defendant will begin serving the sentence on May 29, 2019.

Ramos’s codefendants Norma Morfin Manduhano, Ana Bajo, and Antonio Ahumada Rivas have pleaded guilty to their respective roles in the scheme.  On November 14, 2018, Judge Koh sentenced Mandujano to 30 months in prison.  Judge Koh has scheduled sentencing hearings for Ahumada Rivas and Bajo for March 27, 2019 and April 10, 2019, respectively.

Assistant United States Attorney Michael G. Pitman and Trial Attorney Christopher Magnani are prosecuting the case.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by IRS-CI.