A Von Ormy tax preparer has found herself on the wrong side of the law and is facing a concrete future behind bars. Sandy Gonzalez, 44 years of age, who ran SV Tax and JNC Tax Professionals out of San Antonio, was sentenced to a two-year stint in federal prison for her role in concocting false tax returns, as per a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The crux of the matter lies in Gonzalez's willful actions between January 2018 and April 2021, wherein she managed to improperly advise clients to report less income than they actually earned. Her method? Arranging for them to claim deductions for supposed business losses on their Schedule C forms—losses that were either exaggerated beyond belief or for businesses that didn't even exist. In doing so, she actively set out to reduce her clients' tax liability or, in some cases, to unjustly increase their tax refunds—an economic alchemy that the court has roundly repudiated.
Back in April 2024, Gonzalez found herself indicted with a weighty 10 counts, but by December she had pleaded guilty to one of these counts. The consequences of her guilty plea include her prison sentence and a hefty bill for restitution, coming to $297,777.
Announcements about the sentence were made public by Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas. It was the IRS Criminal Investigation unit that dug into and brought to light the pernicious practices Gonzales had been engaging in. Taking charge of the prosecution was Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Chung, who has now seen the case to its conclusion with Gonzalez's sentencing.
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