Man Admits To $241K In Tax Fraud: Authorities

A Delaware man has admitted helping his dad defraud the federal government out of $241,000 by filing false tax returns, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced on Wednesday.

Johnathan Crespo, 34, of Wilmington, DE, pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of conspiring with Jose Crespo to defraud the IRS by filing false corporate tax returns and cashing the resulting fraudulent refund checks.

Jose Crespo previously pleaded guilty to engaging in the fuel excise tax credit scheme and another tax fraud scheme and causing an anticipated loss to the IRS of nearly $1.5 million. On Dec. 20, 2017, he was sentenced to three years in prison.

Jose Crespo’s wife, Marilyn Crespo, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging her one count of filing a false corporate tax return for tax year 2009 in the same scheme. She was sentenced to one year, one day in prison and must pay restitution of $286,742.

Johnathan Crespo’s brother, Jason Crespo, previously pleaded guilty to engaging in the fuel excise tax credit scheme and another tax fraud scheme, which together claimed fraudulent refunds from the IRS of nearly $1.5 million. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

Between 2011 and 2013, Johnathan Crespo and his father, Jose Crespo, filed numerous false federal corporate tax returns, IRS Forms 1120, for fake businesses, knowing that the businesses were not real and that the credits claimed on the tax returns were false, according to documents filed in the case and statements made in court.

In signing these false tax returns, all three Crespoes took advantage of fuel excise tax credits offered under federal tax law, according to authorities. The federal government taxes gasoline, diesel fuel, and certain other types of fuel, but certain commercial uses of these fuels are nontaxable. Businesses that purchase fuel for a nontaxable use can claim a tax credit by filing a specific form known as “Credit for Federal Tax Paid on Fuels.”

In one instance, Johnathan and Jose Crespo filed a federal corporate tax return for 2011 for Advanced Transportation Corp. that falsely claimed a fuel excise tax credit of $24,898 and a resulting refund of $20,767.

Advanced Transportation Corp. was a shell company, and the fuel excise tax credit and other tax return numbers were false. Johnathan Crespo received and cashed the $20,767 refund check at a check-cashing facility in Guttenberg, Hudson County. He cashed many other refund checks for similar false tax returns at this same check-cashing facility.

Johnathan Crespo faces a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a potential fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 16.

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