A Corona man has admitted to duping the IRS through fraudulent tax returns. Salvador Gonzalez, a tax preparer from Riverside County, pled guilty to three counts of aiding in the preparation of false taxes, the Department of Justice disclosed on Monday, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California.
Gonzalez, who ran Grace's Lighthouse Resource Center, Inc., was responsible for filing over 11,000 tax returns since 2013, claiming refunds totaling upwards of $38 million. Court documents reveal, that Gonzalez pushed clients to establish fake corporations and transfer their assets into these shady entities, then cooking up ersatz corporate tax returns that consistently reported losses.
The returns prepared by Gonzalez and an unnamed associate included false personal expenses labeled as business outgoings, resulting in clients underpaying their taxes. According to the Justice Department's announcement, these illicit strategies included fabricating unreimbursed employee expenses, charitable donations, and even medical costs on personal tax returns.
Not only did Gonzalez's clients pay far less than what they owed, but the Corona man profited handsomely from this scheme – charging $500 per tax return before 2019 and later 1% of the gross income as his fee, as he confessed in court. United States District Judge Jesus G. Bernal has set the sentencing for October 7, where Gonzalez faces up to nine years in prison, three for each count, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California.
