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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Michael Mendoza, an Illinois businessman, has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for tax fraud.
Mendoza admitted that in 2014 he filed a tax return using two fabricated W-2 forms that claimed he and a joint filer were entitled to a federal refund of $79,320. The IRS deposited that amount in Mendoza’s bank account.
When the IRS first began investigating Mendoza’s tax returns, he obstructed the investigation by submitting fictitious documents and made false statements concerning his employment in 2014.
Eventually, Mendoza admitted that in 2009 and 2015 he fabricated additional W-2 forms in his name and the names of two relatives, whose returns were deposited into accounts Mendoza controlled. For these years the IRS issued additional refunds totaling $354,530, and the state of Illinois issued refunds totaling $80,647. To support his claims, Mendoza created 48 false W-2 and W-2c forms in his name and that of two other relatives. Mendoza, 35, started his tax fraud schemes in his early 20s.
In addition to the prison sentence, Mendoza was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $434,314 to the IRS and $80,647 to the state of Illinois.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][us_image image=”3687″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
