A tax preparer from Ocala who defrauded both his clients and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will spend the next few years behind bars.
On Monday, November 25, U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber sentenced Ocala resident Steven Cabrera to three years in federal prison for assisting in preparing false tax documents, submitting false tax documents, and willfully failing to file tax returns.
Cabrera pleaded guilty to the charges in August.
According to court records, Cabrera worked as a tax preparer in the Ocala Area. From 2017 to 2019, Cabrera engaged in “widespread tax fraud” by adding unauthorized and fraudulent deductions and credits to his clients’ tax returns without their knowledge.
Cabrera then embezzled the additional tax return proceeds for his own personal use. In addition, he defrauded clients by instructing them to make out checks to “IRS,” claiming that he would send the funds to the IRS himself.
However, Cabrera instead deposited those checks into an account he controlled for a fictitious business named “International Resort Services.”
Court records show that Cabrera’s “years of fraudulent activity” resulted in total losses of nearly $1 million.
“It’s certainly a bold move to invoke the name of the ‘IRS’ when attempting to defraud not only the government, but people who are putting their trust in you,” said Ron Loecker, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation’s Tampa Field Office. “The real ‘IRS’ is always going to show up, investigate, and put a stop to these types of scams.”
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William S. Hamilton.