A federal grand jury in Los Angeles has indicted Gabriel Guerrero, a commercial real estate agent based in Los Angeles, on charges of tax evasion and obstructing the IRS. According to the indictment, Guerrero failed to file timely tax returns for several years and later filed over a decade's worth of returns in 2014 without paying the self-reported amounts owed.
The indictment alleges that Guerrero attempted to evade IRS collection efforts by not depositing significant commission checks into his bank accounts and using cashier’s checks to avoid levies on those accounts. Additionally, he is accused of submitting false financial disclosure forms that underreported his income and failing to disclose a bank account used for depositing income.
The alleged actions resulted in a tax loss exceeding $350,000 for the IRS. If convicted, Guerrero faces up to five years in prison for tax evasion and three years for obstructing the IRS. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge after considering relevant guidelines and statutory factors.
The announcement was made by 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. The case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation.
Trial Attorneys Robert Kemins and Christopher Gerace from the Tax Division along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Arkow are handling prosecution duties.
It is important to note that an indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.