Grimy Times has learned that Juan Castro-Castro, a 37-year-old Guatemalan national, was sentenced to 37 months in prison for engaging in a $600,000 tax refund conspiracy. The sentencing took place on May 13, 2014.
Castro-Castro, a former resident of Shelbyville, Kentucky, pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to bring fraudulently acquired tax refund checks to Nashville. He also admitted to stealing approximately $649,000 in tax refunds between January 2012 and August 2013.
According to testimony at sentencing, Castro-Castro and his accomplices used false names to submit over 100 fraudulent federal tax returns in Kentucky. The false returns claimed that tax refunds were owed, and most listed one of four Kentucky addresses to which multiple refund checks were mailed by the IRS.
These addresses included empty apartments on which Castro-Castro was the lease holder and paid rent, as well as his own residence. Castro-Castro received the refund checks and brought them to Nashville several times each week to be cashed by an accomplice.
Federal investigators discovered the scheme and identified the location where the checks were being cashed as Cash City on Nolensville Rd. Castro-Castro was arrested by federal agents in May 2013 and has been held in custody since that time.
During the past year, 21 other individuals involved in the scheme have been charged in other indictments, 16 of which have pleaded guilty. The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hilliard Hester. An indictment is merely an accusation, and with respect to the remaining defendants, all are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Key Facts
- State: Tennessee
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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