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Bronx Trio Admits Conspiring To Defraud The US Treasury

06/04/2012 19:16:00 By Peter Milosheff, viewed 686 times.
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Three men from the Bronx, NY, have admitted their roles in defrauding the U.S. Department of the Treasury of more than $300,000 in income tax return checks, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced today.

Pedro Rafael Castillo Roman, 27, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to an Information charging him with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. Julio Alexander Lara Trinidad, 25, and Luis Figaro, 22, both pleaded guilty before Judge Wigenton on Tuesday to Informations charging them with the same offense.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico typically do not file tax returns with the IRS as long as all of their income is derived from sources in Puerto Rico. Other members of the conspiracy filed phony individual income tax returns with the IRS using the identity information of other individuals, including citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, that sought federal tax refunds. In May 2011, Lara Trinidad, Figaro and Castillo Roman conspired with others to
retrieve income tax return checks that the other conspirators caused the U.S. Department of the Treasury to issue and mail to various addresses in Middlesex County, NJ.

Law enforcement recovered $310,647 as a result of the arrest of Lara Trinidad, Figaro and Castillo Roman.

The count to which the defendants pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is currently scheduled for April 30, 2012.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge JoAnn Zuniga; and inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Postal Inspector in Charge Philip R. Bartlett; and police officers from the Metuchen, NJ, Police department, under the direction of Chief Rob Rentenberg, for the investigation leading to the guilty pleas.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys José R. Almonte and Barbara Llanes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.

Defense counsel:

Lara Trinidad: Jonathan Petty Esq., New Brunswick, NJ
Figaro: Joseph M. Mazraani Esq., North Brunswick, NJ
Castillo Roman: Marcia L. Silva Esq., South River, NJ

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Peter Milosheff

acquired Bronx.com in March, 2005 and manages the sites content and operations. Prior to acquiring Bronx.com Mr. Milosheff worked in the area of corporate finance for Christie's New York, Prada, Pfizer, Deutsche Bank and Fortis Bank. At Moody's Investors Service and Deutsche Bank he worked in the areas of structured products revenue accounting and asset management, respectively. At Fortis Bank he worked in the area of structured credit origination and trading. Peter began his career at age 17 in Sofia, Bulgaria, EU, where he established his private educational advising agency Endeavour, providing service to Bulgarian students interested in continuing their education abroad, and especially in the US. While managing most aspects of Bronx.com's operation and delegating others, he continues his career at a Wall Street financial services company (a major European bank) in the area of flow credit derivatives trading. Mr. Milosheff received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania in the Spring of 2002. He graduated Cum Laude with a major in Finance.