A New Bedford tax preparer, Valentina Martinez, has entered a guilty plea to the accusation of filching federal funds, as per the revelations coming from the Department of Justice. Martinez, 50, was charged with netting fraudulent tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service by filing false tax returns for unsuspecting clients.
Martinez admitted to five counts of government money theft on December 3, 2024, and is now awaiting sentencing on March 6, 2025, set by Senior U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris, according to court documents released by the Department of Justice. While working at a national tax service, Martinez falsely added business deduction claims to her clients' tax submissions without their consent. This scheme directed the refunds to debit cards she personally used, funding various expenditures, including a trip to Florida.
Her ruse came to light when one of her clients, noticing a discrepancy, brought a complaint to the tax preparation service's attention, leading to the termination of her employment; by this time, the IRS had suffered a dent over $45,000 because of the 12 deceitful returns she filed.
Part of the Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Project led by the IRS to clamp down on corrupt tax preparers who exploit stolen identities to siphon funds from the U.S. Treasury through counterfeit returns, the prosecution of Martinez reflects the continued vigilance of federal agencies in rooting out financial malfeasance. Martinez faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to a quarter-million dollars, and mandates for three years of supervised release and restitution to the IRS. These penalties will be formalized by Senior U.S. District Judge Saris, referencing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case's development was revealed by United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jonathan Wlodyka, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Victor A. Wild of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is leading the prosecution, as stated in a report available on the Department of Justice's official website.
