{"id":25096,"date":"2016-07-08T13:00:58","date_gmt":"2016-07-08T20:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=25096"},"modified":"2016-07-08T13:00:58","modified_gmt":"2016-07-08T20:00:58","slug":"california-man-claimed-53-million-fraudulent-tax-returns-convicted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=25096","title":{"rendered":"California Man Who Claimed More than $53 Million In Fraudulent Tax Returns Convicted"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0An Oxnard-California-based tax return preparer was convicted Thursday of conspiracy to file false tax refund claims and for having signed tax returns claiming more than $53 million in fraudulent tax refunds, officials announced Friday.<\/p>\n

\"courtroom_02\"Before the IRS was able to identify and stop the scheme, it had already paid out more than $23 million of refunds to the defendant and his co-conspirators, according to officials.<\/p>\n

Rodrigo Pablo \u201cPaul\u201d Lozano<\/strong>, also known as \u201cEl Profe,\u201d 61, was convicted after a two-week jury trial.<\/p>\n

He went by the name \u201cEl Profe,\u201d as he was a teacher before he began preparing tax returns.<\/p>\n

According to the evidence presented in the trial, Lozano\u2019s scheme was based on his applying for Individual Tax Identification Numbers, which are issued in lieu of a social security number to undocumented workers in the United States to allow them to file tax returns.<\/p>\n

The evidence demonstrated that co-conspirators provided Lozano with fake identification documents, such as Matricula cards supposedly issued by the Mexican government and birth certificates, which Lozano used to obtain Identification Numbers in the names shown on the fake identification documents.<\/p>\n

Lozano would then use the ITINs to file three years\u2019 of income tax returns based on wage and withholding information contained in fake W-2s, and listed 3 or 4 fictitious dependents in whose names Lozano also applied for Identification Numbers.<\/p>\n

All of the scheme\u2019s tax returns requested refunds, with most in the $3,000 to $4,000 range, which they requested by claiming the Additional Child Tax Credit (\u201cACTC\u201d). The number of dependents and wage amounts on the tax returns were falsified to maximize the amount of the ACTC.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a tax preparer by trade, this defendant had a greater duty to ensure that the tax returns he filed were accurate,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker.<\/strong> \u201cInstead, by filing for fraudulent returns, Mr. Lozano cheated the IRS and indirectly stole from every law-abiding taxpayer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lozano submitted more than 12,000 false tax returns in an 18-month period in 2011 and 2012, according to officials.<\/p>\n

During that time, his employees told him at least five times that the identity and W-2 documents looked suspicious, and the IRS sent hundreds of warning notices to Lozano stating that the tax returns and W-2s were invalid.<\/p>\n

Despite the repeated warnings, officials said Lozano continued to direct his employees to file the fraudulent tax returns.<\/p>\n

Lozano would divide up the tax refunds with his co-conspirators, including having employees count out tens of thousands of dollars in cash in a bathroom located next to his office space.<\/p>\n

Lozano operated his tax-return business, which he called Ayuda (\u201chelp\u201d in Spanish), by renting space from businesses that catered to Hispanic clients, such as a meat market on Hueneme Road in Oxnard.<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday\u2019s guilty verdict is an important victory for America\u2019s return preparers who play by the rules and have no tolerance for those who make up their own rules,\u201d stated Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Orlando for IRS Criminal Investigation<\/strong>. \u201cThis conviction is a powerful reminder that there is no such thing as free money and there are no rewards or incentives for creativity when it comes to filing fraudulent tax returns.\u201d<\/p>\n

The IRS Criminal Investigation in Camarillo investigated Lozano.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An Oxnard-based tax return preparer was convicted Thursday of conspiracy to file false tax refund claims and for having signed tax returns claiming more than $53 million in fraudulent tax refunds, officials announced Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,48,3],"tags":[1725,14,424,99],"class_list":["post-25096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-main-slider","category-irs","category-u-s-department-of-justice","tag-irs","tag-oxnard","tag-tax-fraud","tag-tax-refunds"],"yoast_head":"\nCalifornia Man Who Claimed More than $53 Million In Fraudulent Tax Returns Convicted<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An Oxnard-based tax return preparer was convicted Thursday of conspiracy to file false tax refund claims and for having signed tax returns claiming more 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