Socialite Enters Guilty Plea for Evading Taxes : Courts: Prosecutors agree to drop five counts of mail fraud, five counts of money laundering and one conspiracy charge against Susie Hernandez.

Orange County socialite Susie Hernandez, accused of helping her husband steal nearly $8 million from his employer, pleaded guilty Thursday to income tax evasion as part of a confidential plea bargain.

Hernandez, 41, and her husband, Daniel, were arrested last February after a yearlong investigation into allegations that they skimmed millions of dollars from PGP Industries of Santa Fe Springs, a precious metals firm.

Daniel Hernandez, 40, pleaded guilty to mail fraud and money laundering two months ago.

The arrests stunned Orange County’s social set. The couple, who were known as wealthy philanthropists, suddenly were accused of being white-collar criminals who used stolen money to pursue opulent lifestyles and buy their way into elite circles.

The Hernandezes donated tens of thousands of dollars to charities and threw lavish parties in their $900,000 Mission Viejo home. They frequently went on exotic vacations and had a stable of cars, including five Mercedes-Benzes, three Rolls-Royces, three Ferraris, one Jaguar, an Aston Martin, a Porsche and a Jeep.

But their wealth drew suspicion. According to investigators, “someone in the community” tipped the Internal Revenue Service that it might want to find out how the Hernandezes could support their lifestyle when Daniel Hernandez made less than $60,000 a year. The couple’s own tax returns showed that they earned only $330,000 during the four years that millions were being routed through their bank account.

The investigation uncovered a lucrative scam devised by Daniel Hernandez to bilk his employer out of millions of dollars. Prosecutors contend that he fabricated money transfers of precious metals among customers of PGP and deposited some payments for the bogus transactions into bank accounts controlled by him and his wife.

Although investigators focused on the Hernandezes, the probe now has turned to PGP, apparently with the full cooperation of the Hernandezes.

In fact, the couple have been allowed to plead guilty to lesser crimes in exchange for their help in the ongoing investigation, although the details of both plea agreements have been sealed by U.S. District Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler.

In an interview with The Times last April, Daniel Hernandez alleged that every top officer at the Santa Fe Springs company was aware of his skimming and that others in the company also were stealing. He said he was prepared to testify against officials of PGP and its parent company, Gerald Metals, in Stamford, Conn., about the alleged thefts of others.

Company officials have denied Daniel Hernandez’s allegations. And federal prosecutors declined to talk about the ongoing investigation.

On Thursday, federal prosecutors agreed to drop five counts of mail fraud, five counts of money laundering and one conspiracy charge against Susie Hernandez as a result of her guilty pleas to tax evasion.

She, in turn, agreed to pay an estimated $1.5 million to $2.5 million in back taxes on the stolen money.

The couple declined comment at the end of the hearing, as did the defense and prosecuting attorneys.

It was clear, however, that the pleas will significantly lower sentences that the Hernandezes faced if they were convicted of the scam in court. Susie Hernandez, who had been facing up to eight years in prison, now is likely to get about 16 months or less. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 24.

Daniel Hernandez is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 4.

Meanwhile, they are free to live in their Mission Viejo home, which now has a tax lien on it. Most of their assets, from cars to jewelry, have been seized or surrendered, investigators said.