Pennsylvania Return Preparer Sentenced To Prison For Stolen Identity Refund Fraud

An Allentown, Pennsylvania, resident was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for using stolen IDs to file fraudulent tax returns, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Louis D. Lappen for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

According to documents filed with the court, Barbara Gonzalez, 32, worked as a return preparer at MJ & Associates, a business located in Allentown that provided tax preparation, check cashing and other services. Gonzalez conspired with others to obtain IDs of Puerto Rico residents and used them to file tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) fraudulently seeking approximately $635,594 in refunds. She directed the IRS to deposit the refunds onto pre-paid debit cards and to mail them to addresses she and her co-conspirators controlled. The fraudulently obtained refund checks were cashed by other co-conspirators, including Jessenia Cordero, who operated MJ & Associates. Cordero was recently sentenced to 42 months in prison.

In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Judge Edward G. Smith ordered Gonzalez to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $319,610.39 in restitution to the IRS.

Acting U.S. Attorney Lappen and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Ignall and Trial Attorney Matthew J. Kluge of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.