Mario Lisandro Flores Moradel, Off-the-Books Payroll Scheme, Florida 2022

ORLANDO, FL — In a shocking turn of events, Mario Lisandro Flores Moradel, a Honduran national, pleaded guilty to conspiring with others as part of a years-long off-the-books payroll scheme that caused more than $38 million in losses to the U.S. government.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Flores operated an illegal, off-the-books cash payroll system for construction workers to avoid paying employment taxes to the IRS and to defraud workers’ compensation insurance companies. Through the scheme, Flores and his co-conspirators also facilitated the employment of illegal aliens impermissibly working in the United States.

From 2015 to 2022, Flores and his co-conspirators used a series of shell companies to run an unlicensed check cashing and cash courier service business. These businesses cashed approximately $89 million in checks from subcontractors in the construction industry, charging them a percentage of the dollar amount of the checks they cashed as a fee for this service. The scheme allowed construction contractors and subcontractors to pay their workers in cash without making required payroll taxes and without regard to whether the workers were legally authorized to work in the United States.

Flores and others also caused the filing of false tax documents with the IRS to conceal the scheme. Of the total loss amount, Flores admitted to causing a tax loss to the United States of more than $9.4 million.

Flores pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 24. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count of conspiracy.

Several of Flores’ co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme. Michael Mayorga and Francisco Alvarez pleaded guilty on May 22, 2025, while Iris Villafranca and Osman Zapata pleaded guilty on Oct. 9, 2025.

In a joint announcement, U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida and Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division made the announcement.

The case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations. ICE ERO Miami (Orlando sub-office), Florida Highway Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Marshals Service, State Department, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement have assisted in arrest operations.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Hu of the Middle District of Florida, Senior Litigation Counsel Sean Beaty, and Trial Attorney Kavitha Bondada of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section are prosecuting the case.

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