TAX PREPARER CONVICTED OF STEALING $100,000 FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK IN SCHEME TO FILE FRAUDULENT TAX RETURNS
Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that a 61-year-old tax preparer has been convicted of stealing $100,000 from the State of New York in a scheme to file fraudulent tax returns. This conviction is the culmination of a two year long joint investigation with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
Ramuntxo Bosch, of 205 West 95th Street, Manhattan, pled guilty to one count of New York State Tax Law Section 1807 (b) a Class E felony offense; aiding or assisting in the giving of fraudulent returns. Under terms of the plea agreement Bosch will be sentenced to six months in jail and required to pay full restitution in the amount of $100,000 to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
Bosch entered his plea of guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice James Kindler in Part 60. The plea agreement calls for restitution to the State of New York to be paid in full by either a cashier’s or certified check, on or before the sentencing date.
At the time of the defendant’s arrest last December, District Attorney Johnson and Commissioner Robert L. Megna of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance made the following statements:
D.A. Johnson said “The pattern of looting of the State’s coffers, as alleged in this criminal complaint, represents unconscionable greed, particularly during these tough economic times when resources are limited and the need for services is high. Aside from being illegal, conduct of this kind exacerbates the hardship endured by honest citizens. Let this arrest send a strong message that those who engage in this kind of white collar economic crime, will be vigorously prosecuted.”
Commissioner Megna said, “This arrest marks another in the Tax Department’s year-long, statewide investigation of corrupt tax preparers who use their specialized training and knowledge of tax law to game the system. The case also demonstrates how the Tax Department’s enforcement personnel are working closely with prosecutors and aggressively using investigative techniques not previously common in tax enforcement to penetrate the criminal activities of corrupt tax preparers. Together with dedicated and concerned prosecutors like Bronx District Attorney Johnson, we are using these types of techniques to investigate dozens of fraudulent preparers across the state. I thank District Attorney Johnson for his support in this investigation and for his aggressive prosecution of this case.”
Bosch, the owner of Bosch Tax Services, at 111 West 225th Street in the Marble Hill section of the Bronx filed tax returns for clients which fraudulently claimed a number of foster children as dependents and child care tax deductions for these “phantom” children. The crimes occurred between January 1, 2005 and November 25, 2008.
The scheme began to unravel when the New York State Tax Department of Taxation and Finance noticed that the same children with the same social security numbers were being claimed as dependents on multiple returns by unrelated taxpayers. Bronx District Attorney Detective Investigator Juan Medina traced the social security numbers in question to children who were born in Puerto Rico, some of whom were enrolled in schools on the Island. Bosch profited from the fraudulent scheme by charging clients extra fees and retaining a portion of the tax refunds. The fraudulent returns were filed electronically.
District Attorney Johnson and Commissioner Megna thanked members of their staffs for their hard work on the investigation that resulted in this arrest. The list of personnel includes NYPD Detective Steven Swindell, of the DA’s Squad, Bronx DA Detective Investigator Juan Medina, Attorney-in-Charge, Robert Eisman, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, and Investigator Angelique Aponte, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
Assistant District Attorney Ann Cherry of the Arson/Auto/Economic Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case.
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