Candida Figueroa, Fraudulent Tax Refund Scheme, North Carolina 2013

CHARLOTTE, NC – In a blow to those who thought they could cheat the system, two Charlotte women have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a fraudulent tax refund scheme that sought over $3 million in refunds using false tax identification numbers.

Candida Figueroa, 42, and Cathy Cisneros, 31, both of Charlotte, were sentenced to prison by U.S. District Court Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. on Thursday, November 7, 2013, for obtaining false and fraudulent income tax refunds.

Figueroa was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release, while Cisneros was sentenced to 37 months in prison and ordered to serve three years under court supervision following her prison term.

Both defendants pleaded guilty to one count of false claims conspiracy. Figueroa pleaded guilty in November 2012, while Cisneros pleaded guilty in October 2012.

Judge Cogburn also ordered both defendants to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $1,658,477.67.

“Figueroa and Cisneros thought they could get away with ripping off the government and honest taxpayers who file truthful and honest tax returns. But instead of a pot of gold, the pair found prison cells waiting at the end of their tax fraud rainbow,” said U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins.

According to court records, from January to July 2012, Figueroa and Cisneros conspired to defraud the U.S. Treasury by participating in a scheme to obtain false tax refunds using fraudulently obtained Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs).

The scheme involved obtaining ITIN numbers for various individuals using Mexican birth certificates and other documents, and then using these ITIN numbers to prepare fraudulent federal tax returns seeking refunds based on false wage, income, and withholding tax information and claiming multiple dependents.

The women also rented apartments at complexes with clustered mailboxes and used the multiple apartment addresses on the fraudulent tax returns they submitted to the IRS, causing the Treasury Department to mail false tax refund checks to these addresses.

Court records reflect that at least 1,104 fraudulent tax returns claiming $5.1 million in refunds have been associated with the pair’s conspiracy. Of this amount, the IRS issued refunds totaling approximately $1.6 million.

A third co-conspirator, Ana Portillo, 42, of Charlotte, pleaded guilty in May 2013, to one count of false claims conspiracy for participating in the tax fraud scheme. Portillo is currently released on bond and is awaiting sentencing.

The case was investigated by the IRS-Criminal Investigations Division with substantial assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

As the Grimy Times continues to investigate this case, it is clear that tax refund schemes like this one will not be tolerated in our community.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdnc/pr/two-charlotte-women-sentenced-prison-fraudulent-tax-refund-scheme