Jacksonville, Florida Man Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Payroll Tax Evasion
Oscar Arnelson Rodriguez-Cruz, a 41-year-old Honduran citizen living unlawfully in the United States, has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the IRS of federal payroll taxes.
On April 1, 2024, United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan handed down the sentence, which also included an order for Rodriguez-Cruz to forfeit $626,817, the amount of proceeds obtained as a result of the wire fraud offense, and to pay restitution to the IRS for a tax loss of $3,436,008.
According to court documents, Rodriguez-Cruz engaged in a scheme through which construction contractors engaged the services of individuals who were living and working in the United States illegally. He formed a shell company that entered into agreements with the contractors to provide construction workers, thereby disclaiming responsibility for ensuring that the workers were legally authorized to work in the United States, that required state and federal payroll taxes were paid, and that adequate workers’ compensation insurance was provided.
Rodriguez-Cruz applied for a workers’ compensation insurance policy that covered a one-year period, representing that the policy would cover five employees and an estimated annual payroll of $121,000. The insurance company issued the policy, charging a premium of $20,473.
To pay the workers, the contractors wrote payroll checks to the shell company, which Rodriguez-Cruz then cashed and distributed the cash to crew leaders, who paid the workers in cash. No state or federal payroll taxes, such as for Medicare and Social Security, were deducted from the workers’ pay, in violation of Florida and federal law.
Rodriguez-Cruz kept approximately 4% of the amount of each payroll check as a fee, totaling $626,817 during the scheme, which involved hundreds of workers and payroll checks totaling $15,670,438.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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