Miami, Florida – A Highlands County, Florida tax return preparer was sentenced yesterday to 37 months imprisonment for filing fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Benny Aguilar, 49, of Lake Placid, owned and operated B&A Services, a tax preparation business, located in Lake Placid. From approximately 2014 through 2018, Aguilar filed fraudulent returns for his clients seeking refunds to which the clients were not entitled by reporting fictitious residential energy credits and inflating the federal income tax withholdings. For each of the years 2014 through 2018, Aguilar submitted approximately 2,235 returns claiming residential energy credits. At sentencing, it was uncontested that Aguilar’s submission of fraudulent tax returns resulted in a loss amount to the IRS of $2,988,702.00.
U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon also sentenced Aguilar to one year of supervised release and ordered him to pay $92,230.00 in restitution.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Brian Payne, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.
IRS-CI Tampa Field Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana M. Acosta prosecuted it.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-14020.
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