Honduran national Ana Romero has been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for her part in a scheme that defrauded the IRS and a workers' compensation insurance company. Alongside her prison term, Romero has been ordered to forfeit $461,850, which represents proceeds from the offense, and pay restitution to the IRS totaling nearly $2 million, according to a recent press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Senior U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis imposed the sentence on Romero after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States, U.S. Attorney's Office announced on their website. Romero, 43, engaged in a payroll scheme through which more than $7.6 million was paid to construction workers "off the books" during the years 2018 and 2019. The conspiracy involved using a shell company, Universal Florida Construction LLC, to facilitate cash payments without withholding taxes or paying insurance premiums.
Universal Florida Construction, formed by Romero, provided fraudulent proof of insurance to construction contractors and subcontractors in exchange for a percentage of their payroll. This act allowed the contractors to avoid paying worker's compensation insurance premiums, which led to a loss of more than $1.2 million to the insurance company. Moreover, Romero's role in the deposit and withdrawal of funds to pay workers without proper tax withholdings resulted in an IRS loss exceeding $1.9 million.
Romero was not alone in the conspiracy; co-conspirators Oscar Molina-Avila and Jose Molina-Herrera received prison sentences of four years and two years and three months, respectively. Assistant Special Agent in Charge Richard Nelson, with the IRS Criminal Investigation Tampa Field Office, stated, "Romero and her co-conspirators assisted contractors and work crews in stealing money from the federal government by avoiding paying over employment taxes, which were ultimately used for their personal gain and unfair industry competition." He further warned that such activities would be rigorously investigated and prosecuted, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The agencies behind the investigative efforts include the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Florida Department of Financial Services – Bureau of Insurance Fraud, and the case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican. Timothy Hemker, Assistant Special Agent in Charge at HSI Jacksonville, emphasized that under-the-table payroll schemes threaten the integrity of the system and that HSI is committed to uncovering these illegal operations.
