RIVERSIDE, Calif.
Luis E. Perez, 56, owner of several Orange County-based staffing companies, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison and ordered to pay $38 million in restitution for evading nearly $30 million in payroll taxes and filing false tax returns.
Perez, who lived in Anaheim Hills, Yorba Linda, and Dove Canyon, pleaded guilty in September 2024 to tax evasion and aiding in the filing of a false return.
U.S. District Judge Kenly Kiya Kato handed down the sentence, calling his fraud “astonishing” in scope and impact.
From 2001 to 2017, Perez’s companies — including Checkmates Staffing, Staffaide, BaronHR, and Fortress Holding Group — withheld but failed to pay employee payroll taxes, amassing nearly $30 million in liabilities. The IRS began collection efforts in 2007, but Perez dodged payment by spending through business accounts on luxury cars, a boat, and a Visa Black card under his wife’s name.
He lied to IRS agents, hid income, and claimed a salary of just $1,000/week while funneling company funds through others. Even after being charged, Perez continued criminal activity: from 2018 to 2019, he caused BaronHR West to underreport $130 million in wages, dodging another $29.6 million in taxes.
In August 2024, his bond was revoked after new violations were uncovered — including failing to pay $25 million more in payroll taxes between 2021 and 2023.
Federal prosecutors described him as a “prolific employment tax cheat” who showed “no remorse” and repeatedly violated tax laws over two decades.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brett Sagel, James Hughes, and DOJ’s Robert Kemins.