Summary
Miguel Martinez pled guilty to conspiracy to submit $25 million in fraudulent individual federal income tax returns to the International Revenue Service.
On June 17, 2024, 39-year-old Miguel Martinez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to submit $25 million in fraudulent individual federal income tax returns to the International Revenue Service. Mr. Martinez and his co-defendant, Victor Cruz, filed hundreds of fraudulent tax returns between November 2019 and June 2023, according to federal authorities.
The co-defendants allegedly reported false wages and withheld information on behalf of individuals who had never worked at fake businesses. The IRS discovered that these listed businesses were fake and had never paid withholdings to the IRS. The listed owners of these businesses were unaware. In total, the IRS paid out $2.3 million in fraudulent refunds.
When Martinez was arrested, officers searched his three homes. Law enforcement found $750,000 in fraudulent tax refund checks, identification cards for over 200 people, firearms, and ammunition.
U.S. assistant attorneys Joseph Barton and Henry Carbajal III are prosecuting this case. Mr. Martinez is scheduled to be sentenced on September 23, 2024, and is facing a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years and a $250,000 fine. Mr. Cruz has not entered a plea and is still awaiting trial.
