Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Impeding the IRS Related to an Employment Tax Scheme

A business owner pled guilty for his participation in an employment tax scheme with the intent of impeding the functions of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement.

Marvin Castrillo, 37, of Miramar, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to impede the functions of the IRS, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. As part of his plea agreement, Castrillo agreed to pay restitution to the IRS in the total amount of $523,172. 

According to court documents, Castrillo was a principal owner of Dezca Enterprises, Inc. (Dezca), a Florida corporation primarily involved in the construction industry. Castrillo conspired with the owners of shell corporations to cash Dezca corporate checks so that the defendant could use the proceeds to pay Dezca employees’ wages in cash. Castrillo’s scheme created the appearance that Dezca subcontracted construction projects with bona fide subcontractors, when in reality the defendant just used these shell corporations as a way to cash checks and pay his employees’ wages in cash, thereby impairing the IRS’ ability to determine Dezca’s correct employment tax liabilities.

Specifically, Castrillo wrote Dezca corporate checks totaling approximately $3,570,366 to at least seven different shell companies. The owners of these shell companies cashed the checks, and provided the proceeds, minus a fee, back to the defendant. Castrillo paid the wages of Dezca employees with these proceeds, and therefore, willfully evaded quarterly federal employment taxes from 2007 through 2010 in the amount of $523,172.

Castrillo is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14, 2016 at 9:45 a.m. before United States District Judge Federico A. Moreno. At sentencing, Castrillo faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin J. Larsen.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.