Marilyn Crespo, Corporate Tax Return Fraud, NJ 2009

A Salem County, New Jersey, woman has admitted to signing fraudulent corporate tax returns that ripped off the federal government for $286,742 in false refunds. Marilyn Crespo, 50, of Carney’s Point, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to filing a false corporate tax return for tax year 2009, caving under the weight of a years-long IRS investigation.

Before U.S. Chief District Judge Jose L. Linares, Crespo admitted to signing under penalty of perjury multiple fake Form 1120 corporate tax returns for shell companies that never conducted legitimate business. She did so at the direction of her husband, Jose Crespo, who previously admitted to orchestrating the scheme and another related tax fraud operation. Crespo knew the businesses were phony and the claims on the returns were pure fiction.

The fraud centered on fuel excise tax credits, a legal provision meant for businesses using fuel in nontaxable commercial operations. Crespo weaponized this system, filing false claims via Form 4136 to inflate credits and trigger IRS refunds. One return, submitted for Magnum Cleaning Service Corp., falsely reported $115,027 in gross receipts and claimed a $20,859 fuel tax credit—resulting in a $15,750 payout. The company didn’t exist. The money wasn’t earned.

Crespo didn’t just file the fraud—she cashed in. Literally. She collected and cashed the $15,750 refund check at a check-cashing facility in Guttenberg, New Jersey, where she once resided. That location became a regular drop point for dozens of similar fraudulent refund checks tied to the scheme, all laundered through the same outlet.

Her husband, Jose Crespo, already paid the price. On September 11, 2017, he pleaded guilty to masterminding the fuel tax credit scam and a second tax fraud operation, causing nearly $1.5 million in anticipated losses to the IRS. On December 20, 2017, he was sentenced to three years in federal prison. Now, Marilyn Crespo faces her own reckoning.

The charge she pleaded guilty to—filing a false corporate tax return—carries a maximum penalty of three years behind bars, a $250,000 fine, or double the gross gain from the offense. Sentencing is set for June 20, 2018. The case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation, led by Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Agarwal. Crespo is represented by Kenneth W. Kayser, Esq., of East Hanover, New Jersey.