California Real Estate Agent Charged with Tax Evasion and Foreclosure Payments
A federal judge in Los Angeles has indicted Gabriel Guerrero, a Los Angeles-based real estate agent, on charges of tax evasion and obstructing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in its efforts to collect back taxes.
The lawsuit alleges that Guerrero failed to timely file his tax returns for years and did not pay the money he owed after filing more than 10 years of returns in 2014.
According to the lawsuit, when the IRS tried to collect back taxes owed, Guerrero allegedly took steps to avoid paying, including not depositing large commission checks from real estate sales into his bank accounts and using cashier’s checks to avoid IRS taxes on those accounts.
In addition, Guerrero is accused of obstructing IRS collection efforts by submitting false financial disclosure forms that understated his income and by hiding the bank account he used to deposit his money.
The total tax loss resulting from Guerrero’s actions is alleged to be more than $350,000.
If convicted, Guerrero faces a maximum sentence of five years for tax evasion and three years for obstructing the IRS.
The sentence will be decided by a district court judge, who will consider the US Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.
The case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California announced the case.
