Francisco R. Legaspi, Failing to Appear for Sentencing, California 1993

Fugitive Pleads Guilty to Failing to Appear for Sentencing

Francisco R. Legaspi, a 61-year-old man from London, Ontario, Canada, formerly of Daly City, has pleaded guilty to failing to appear for his sentencing on January 28, 1993. Legaspi was charged with aiding and assisting in the presentation of false tax returns and preparing a false tax return.

The charges date back to 1992 when Legaspi was indicted on August 19 for three counts of aiding and assisting in the presentation of false tax returns. He was released from custody with the condition that he appear in court for all hearings. Legaspi pleaded guilty on November 5, 1992, to one count of preparing a false tax return, but he failed to appear for his sentencing on January 28, 1993.

Legaspi intentionally avoided his sentencing and fled to Mexico and later to Canada. He was located in Canada in 2012 after the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security researched social media websites and found Legaspi's Facebook page. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police used the information to apprehend Legaspi, and he was extradited from Canada to the United States with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs.

Legaspi made his initial appearance in federal court in San Francisco on July 1, 2014. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 2, 2014, before the Honorable William H. Orrick, United States District Court Judge in San Francisco.

The maximum penalty for aiding and assisting in the filing of false tax returns is three years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The maximum penalty for failure to appear is two years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Legaspi's case was investigated by the IRS, Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the United States Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, and the United States Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Moore is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Edward Solis.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/21-year-fugitive-pleads-guilty-failing-appear-1993-court-appearance