San Antonio Consultant Sentenced to Federal Prison for Tax Fraud

In San Antonio today, Rodney Lyle Roberts was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for preparing false tax returns, announced United States Attorney John F. Bash, and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Acting Special Agent in Charge Andy Tsui, San Antonio Field Office.

In addition to the prison term, Senior United States District Judge David A. Ezra ordered that Roberts pay $143,590 restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and be placed on supervised release for a period of one year after completing his prison term.

On October 4, 2017, Roberts was found guilty by a federal jury of four counts of making false tax returns.  According to court records, Roberts prepared false and fraudulent income tax returns by failing to report his income for tax years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.  Roberts did business in San Antonio and the surrounding areas providing software consultant work under the name Rod Roberts.  Instead of reporting any income, Roberts said he received zero income, when in fact he had an income totaling over $380,000 for the tax years in question.

“At the IRS, protecting taxpayer money is a matter we take extremely seriously. An integral part of the agency’s mission involves detecting and catching fraudulent tax claims," stated Andy Tsui, IRS Criminal Investigation, Acting Special Agent in Charge, San Antonio Field Office.  “Today’s sentencing of Rodney Roberts demonstrates our unwavering commitment to protecting the interests of law-abiding taxpayers.”

Roberts currently is out on bond.  Judge Ezra ordered Roberts to report to federal authorities on or before February 6, 2018, to start his prison sentence.

This case was investigated by IRS-CI.  Assistant United States Attorney Gregory J. Surovic prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.

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