Lawrenceville Tax Return Preparer Sentenced For Filing False Tax Returns

ATLANTA - Laura Romina Delgado has been sentenced for filing false tax returns that claimed over $3.6 million in fraudulent refunds.

“Honest, hard-working taxpayers who file their tax returns and pay their fair share of taxes should be assured that those who try to profit by filing false returns will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates.

“The sole objective of Ms. Delgado’s scheme was to unjustly enrich herself at the expense of the IRS,” stated Veronica F. Hyman-Pillot, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “We will continue to pursue individuals like Delgado, who abuse positions of trust to commit crimes and ruin the lives of innocent citizens by misusing their identities.”

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court:  Delgado operated a business named Servicios Hispanos in Norcross, Ga., which offered various financial and legal services, mainly to members of the Hispanic community.  Between January 2013 and May 2014, Delgado electronically filed approximately 1,300 federal income tax returns, claiming over $3.6 million in fraudulent refunds.

Many of the fraudulent returns filed by Delgado were in the names of individuals who were not documented to work in the United States.  In some instances, she assisted these individuals in obtaining Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs) from the IRS to facilitate the fraud.  Delgado also submitted false and misleading W-2 forms with the returns she filed and assisted in negotiating U.S. Treasury checks representing the proceeds of the fraud.  She also notarized and filed fraudulent ITIN applications.  

Delgado, 33, of Lawrenceville, Ga., was sentenced to four years, three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  She was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,148,440, and a special assessment of $100.  Delgado was convicted on these charges on July 7, 2014, after she pleaded guilty to a criminal indictment charging her with wire fraud.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Assistant United States Attorneys J. Russell Phillips and Michael Brown prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.