Man impersonated IRS employee, prepared false tax returns in Nevada for thousands of dollars, documents say

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- A man accused of soliciting thousands of dollars from victims in exchange for filing false tax returns, and impersonating an Internal Revenue Service officer faced a judge on Thursday.

Francisco Ivan Velazquez, 52, is facing charges of three counts of wire fraud, two counts of impersonation of officer or employee of the United States, and five counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

According to allegations contained in his indictment, from March 2016 through March 2018, Velazquez told the victims that he was an IRS employee and was able to secure large monetary refunds for them from the IRS.

Velazquez falsely claimed that such funds were available from a purported IRS program that allowed people who had previously lost a home to foreclosure to recoup money by applying to the IRS and filing certain documents, the indictment said.

Velazquez also advised victims that in exchange for a fee, he would submit an application for them to recover the funds. Velazquez would then prepare and file false tax returns and other documents with the IRS claiming that the victim had federal tax withholdings in excess of $100,000, and fraudulently claiming that the victim qualified for an income tax refund in excess of $100,000.

If convicted, Velazquez could face 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud, three years for each count of filing a false tax return, and for each count of impersonating an officer or employee of the United States.

Velazquez was described as a Mexican citizen who entered the U.S. illegally by the U.S. Attorney District of Nevada office.



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