Santa Rosa Tax Preparer Sentenced for Filing BogusRefund Claims.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 9, 1998--The general partner of Pajaro Tax Service in Santa Rosa was sentenced today to serve six months of home detention with electronic monitoring and five years probation after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a conspiracy to file false claims of

The general partner, Clara Rivera Aguilera, 30, of Santa Rosa, will begin serving her sentence immediately under the terms imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston.

In addition, David Mejia Robles, 31, of Santa Rosa, a co-conspirator, was sentenced to five years probation. Both were named in an indictment handed down by a Federal Grand Jury in October 1996.

The indictment charged both with filing false claims on income tax returns, conspiracy, and mail fraud in a scheme to falsely claim $120,000 in Federal income tax refunds, and more than $100,000 in false state income tax refunds.

According to the plea agreements, in 1992 David Mejia Robles and Clara Rivera Aguilera conspired with Stella Mary Robles Garcia and Carlos Robles, who were previously sentenced to federal prison, and others, to use false wage and earnings statements (W-2's) in the preparation of income tax returns claiming false refunds for fictitious individuals.

Robles and Aguilera admitted to filing false paper and electronic income tax returns that claimed refunds to which the purported taxpayers were not entitled. According to the plea agreement, fraudulent post office and private mail boxes were used as return addresses to receive the bogus tax refunds.

In separate plea agreements, Aguilera pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, one count of making false claims, and one count of mail fraud, and Robles pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, two counts of making false claims, and one count of mail fraud.

During sentencing, Judge Illston ordered Aguilera to pay $20,000 in restitution. Robles was also ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Schmidt, with the assistance of Pat Leu of the U.S. Attorney's Office, prosecuted the case.

The investigation was handled by IRS Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent Wayne Brown, and the California State Franchise Tax Board Special Agent Joyce Baral.