3 Sentenced to Prison in Tax Refund Fraud Cases

Three Californians have been sentenced to federal prison terms in connection with illegal tax refund schemes, the U.S. attorney’s office in Fresno said Monday.

Jose Jiminez, 39, of Porterville, was sentenced to 18 months in custody with three years of supervised release in connection with a scheme to use Mexican voter registration cards to obtain tax identification numbers from the Internal Revenue Service.

He was ordered to pay $31,013.50 in restitution to the IRS.

According to federal prosecutors, Jiminez acknowledged that he used the Mexican voter cards to get the taxpayer numbers, which he used to have false tax returns and false W-2 forms prepared.

The fake forms were mailed to the IRS, and Jiminez acknowledged having access to post office boxes that were used to receive false refund checks, U.S. Atty. McGregor Scott said.

In a related case also involving illegal tax refunds, 36-year-old Mariano Maciel of Terra Bella was sentenced to 30 months in custody and a three-year term of supervised release. He was ordered to pay the IRS $53,990 in restitution.

Maciel’s sister and co-defendant Lourdes Maria Ramos, 34, also of Terra Bella, was sentenced to 16 months in custody and three years of supervised release.

She was ordered to pay the IRS $22,616.

The cases are part of an IRS crackdown on tax refund schemes in the Central Valley. They involve the submission of false tax returns with the intent of receiving false refund checks, Assistant U.S. Atty. Sheila Oberto said.

Twenty-three people have pleaded guilty, she said.