In
Bronx Tax Fraud EITC Case
Questions of Corrupted
Drives and City Staff Now 12
Years
By Matthew
Russell Lee
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
May 17 – Nine defendants from
The Bronx and as many lawyers
showed up at 5 pm on Friday,
May 17, 2019 for an IRS Earned
Income Tax Credit fraud
prosecution before
U.S. District
Court for the
Southern
District of
New York Judge
Sidney H.
Stein. Inner
City Press
was there.
In the EITC
case the problem of
the day was
discovery, specifically
getting all
the
defendants'
lawyers copies
of the hard drives
with the
allegedly
fraudulent tax
filings
on them. One
lawyer said
she couldn't
decrypt the
data; it was
said that the
protective
order, that
the defendants
can't take
the information
home to review
it, made thing
much more time
consuming.
The request
for ninety days until
motions,
including one
for a
bill of
particulars, are due was
rejected. But
Judge Stein
gave them
until July 17,
with the
government's
response due
on August 7
and replies on
August
16. Time was
of course
excluded, the
interest of the
public in a
speedy trial
being outweighed.
In part, a
corrupt City
employee is
said to have
sold
children's
information to
tax preparing
businesses,
each of which
spawned
others, all
throughout the
Bronx
Jump
cut to
September 12,
2022: "ARIEL
JIMENEZ, a/k/a
“Melo,” was
sentenced to
12 years in
prison in
connection
with his
leading role
in a broad tax
fraud and
identity theft
conspiracy and
his actions to
launder the
proceeds of
his
crimes.
United States
District Judge
Sidney H.
Stein imposed
today’s
sentence."
Here's
from the underlying complaint:
"From at least in or about
2009 up to and including in or
about 2015, in the Southern
District of New York and
elsewhere, ARIEL JIMENEZ,
a/k/a "Melo," IRELINE NUNEZ,
ANA YESSENIA JIMENEZ, EVELIN
JIMENEZ, LEYVI CASTILLO,
CINTHIA FEDERO, GUILLERMO
ARIAS MONCION, MARCOS DE JESUS
PANTALEON, a/k/a "Junior," and
JOSE CASTILLO, a/k/a "Jairo,"
the defendants, and Case
1:18-cr-00879-SHS Document 1
Filed 11/08/18 Page 1 of 24
others known and unknown,
knowingly entered into an
agreement, combination, and
conspiracy with others and
each other to defraud the
United States and a department
and agency thereof, to wit,
the Internal Revenue Service
("IRS"), by obtaining and
aiding to obtain the payment
and allowance of false,
fictitious, and fraudulent
claims, to wit, the defendants
agreed to prepare and file,
and assist others to prepare
and file, federal income tax
returns fraudulently claiming
one or more tax credits,
including the Earned Income
Tax Credit ("EITC"). (Title
18, United States Code,
Section 286.)"
The case is US v.
Jimenez, et al.., 18-cr-879
(Stein)
***
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