NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A Bronx man was sentenced to 40 months in prison for his participation in COVID-19 related tax fraud and unemployment benefits fraud schemes that resulted in losses totaling over $570,000, officials announced Wednesday.
Juan Carlos Castro Gonzalez, 35, was sentenced on Tuesday after he plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on April 6, 2022, Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York said.
His schemes resulted in actual losses totaling over $570,000 and intended losses of over $3.3 million, officials said.
From 2019 to 2021, Castro Gonzalez participated in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud by defrauding government agencies authorities said.
Between July 2019 and August 2021, Castro Gonzalez worked with others to obtain fraudulent tax refunds and Economic Impact Payments, which were authorized as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, from the Internal Revenue Service.
Between June 2020 and August 2021, Castro Gonzalez worked with others to obtain CARES Act unemployment insurance benefits as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Castro Gonzalez controlled several bank accounts under different identities and used them to deposit and receive, among other things, U.S. Treasury payments in the names of other individuals.
Castro Gonzalez was observed on bank surveillance footage at several of these bank locations depositing U.S. Treasury checks into the accounts.
Authorities said Castro Gonzalez is responsible for $56,648.01 in losses to the Internal Revenue Service.
Additionally, Castro Gonzalez verified CARES Act UI benefit applications to the New York Department of Labor that had been fraudulently submitted using the names and social security numbers of people who were unaware that such applications had been made using their personal information.
Once the NY DOL received and approved the fraudulent UI benefit applications, the funds were sent to specified bank accounts or to pre-paid cards, at least some of which were controlled and received by Castro Gonzalez.
Castro Gonzalez and his co-conspirators caused actual losses to the NYL DOL of $500,079 and intended losses of approximately $3,363,000.
In addition to his prison term, Castro Gonzalez was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $574,202.01 and to forfeit the same amount to the government.
“Juan Carlos Castro Gonzalez exploited the Government’s efforts to help individuals struggling to make ends meet during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to enrich himself and his co-conspirators," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.
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