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For Immediate Release:
For Further Information:
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June 17, 2011

Office of The Attorney General
- Paula T. Dow, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
- Stephen J. Taylor, Director

Media Inquiries-
Peter Aseltine
609-292-4791
Citizen Inquiries-
609-292-4925

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Two Paterson Men Sentenced to State Prison for Conspiring to Steal $390,000 by Filing False State & Federal Tax Returns

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TRENTON – Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that two Paterson men were sentenced to state prison today for conspiring to steal more than $390,000 by filing 151 fraudulent state and federal tax returns.

According to Director Taylor, Wilyn Caceres, 34, of Paterson, and Lisaldo Ramon Espinal, 26, of Paterson, were each sentenced to six years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Pedro J. Jimenez Jr. in Mercer County. Each pleaded guilty on Nov. 8, 2010 to charges of conspiracy and receiving stolen property, which were contained in a Nov. 9, 2009 state grand jury indictment.

Deputy Attorney General Denise Grugan prosecuted the case for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial and Computer Crimes Bureau. The charges stem from a joint investigation by the New Jersey Division of Taxation’s Office of Criminal Investigation and the Division of Criminal Justice.

The investigation revealed that between April 18 and Aug. 15, 2007, the defendants conspired to file 117 fraudulent New Jersey Gross Income Tax returns, which resulted in them receiving $272,044 in state refund checks that they laundered through a number of bank accounts. During the same period, they also filed 34 fraudulent U.S. Individual Income Tax returns, which resulted in them receiving $118,790 in refund checks from the U.S. Treasury.

“The prison sentences imposed on these defendants demonstrate our resolve to aggressively prosecute anyone who attempts to defraud the State of New Jersey and its taxpayers by filing fraudulent tax returns,” said Attorney General Dow.

“The Division of Criminal Justice is focusing enhanced personnel and resources on prosecuting major financial crimes, including tax fraud,” said Director Taylor. “We will continue to work closely with auditors in the Division of Taxation in these efforts.”

“Those who seek to manipulate the system by obtaining fraudulent tax refunds are simply stealing from their fellow citizens,” said Michael J. Bryan, Acting Director of the Division of Taxation. “We will continue to vigorously pursue any evidence of illegal activity in this area. Taxpayers have the right to know that we are doing all that we can to ensure the integrity of our reporting and refund systems.”

The investigation was led by Auditor Lee Roach of the Division of Taxation’s Office of Criminal Investigation, Sgt. Robert Walker of the Division of Criminal Justice and DAG Grugan.

The Nov. 9, 2009 indictment also charged Jason Perez, 26, of Paterson, with participating in the fraudulent scheme. He pleaded guilty on Nov. 8, 2010 to receipt of stolen property and is awaiting sentencing.

The 2009 indictment superseded a Dec. 2, 2008 indictment, which charged Caceres, Espinal and Perez, as well as a fourth man, Miguel A. Hernandez, 23, of Paterson. Hernandez pleaded guilty on July 27, 2009 to receipt of stolen property. He was sentenced on Oct. 8, 2009 to 364 days in the Mercer County Jail and three years of probation.

The tax refund scheme was uncovered in August 2007, when auditors in the Division of Taxation’s Office of Criminal Investigation detected an abnormal pattern involving the refund checks. Looking at the computer-generated tax returns related to the refunds, they noted similarities. They also identified irregularities in the accompanying W-2 forms, which proved to be fraudulent. Working with the Division of Criminal Justice Financial and Computer Crimes Bureau, they traced the refund checks to the defendants.

Most of the state refund checks, which ranged from $1,500 to $3,676, were cashed by Caceres at a bank branch office in Passaic where he worked or were deposited by him into a series of accounts he opened there using stolen or fraudulent identification information. The defendants withdrew money from those accounts – and an account opened by Perez at another bank, where refund checks were also deposited – in the form of cash, ATM withdrawals, debit charges and checks. Sizeable transfers were also made among the various accounts. In investigating the fraudulent state tax returns, the state investigators uncovered the U.S. Treasury checks, which were deposited into the same bank accounts.

Caceres, his cousin Espinal, and Perez were involved in operating a business called Global Movement LLC on Market Street in Paterson, which was a tax preparation service, travel agency and money transmitter. Several of the bank accounts were in the name of Global Movement.

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