A California man was sentenced yesterday to six years in prison for preparing false tax returns for clients.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Salvador Gonzalez, of Corona, operated for more than a decade Grace's Lighthouse Resource Center Inc., a return-preparation business.

During that time, on thousands of returns he prepared for clients, Gonzalez consistently claimed false deductions like charitable donations and medical expenses, which reduced the amount of income taxes his clients paid. Gonzalez also directed his clients to create sham corporations and fraudulently deduct personal expenses - such as their mortgage, car and utility payments - as business expenses on the tax returns filed for these phony corporations. These fabricated losses flowed through to the clients' individual income tax returns, thereby fraudulently reducing the amount of individual income taxes they paid.

In total, Gonzalez caused a tax loss to the IRS of at least $28 million.

In addition to his prison sentence, the court ordered Gonzalez to serve one year of supervised release and to pay $403,908 in restitution to the United States.

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 made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Lauren K. Pope of the Justice Department's Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli A. Alcaraz for the Central District of California prosecuted the case.

Consistent with the plea agreement, the U.S. Attorney's Office's Tax Section filed a civil complaint against Gonzalez in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The complaint seeks to permanently enjoin Gonzalez from preparing, assisting in, directing or supervising the preparation or filing of federal tax returns, amended tax returns or other related documents or forms for others. The civil complaint alleges that over a period of years, Gonzalez prepared tax returns that understate the federal income-tax liability of his customers using a scheme which has harmed the United States, the IRS, his customers and the public. Yesterday, Gonzalez consented to the entry of the civil judgment and permanent injunction.

Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers tips to recognize tax scams and fraud.

In the past decade, the Justice Department has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department's website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page.

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