Miami-Dade, FL - Two South Florida men have been arrested after allegedly stealing thousands of dollars in tax returns from a victim who hired them to file their taxes.
50-year-old Juan Carlos Mendieta and 26-year-old Leandro Machado Gonzalez ran a firm called "Famous Accounting, Inc."
The two were arrested on charges of money laundering, organized scheme to defraud, and grand theft charges.
Detective Chris Thomas with the Miami-Dade Police Department says the two would prepare and submit tax returns on behalf of their clients, however, they would “falsify the information submitted to the IRS and use their business bank account to collect the inflated tax returns."
Police say the case dates back to February of 2021 when Mendieta and Gonzalez filed a tax return on behalf of a woman who never received her tax refund.
Mendieta wrote the victim a check for $29,010 that turned out to be worthless.
The victim contacted police who looked into bank accounts connected to Mendieta and Gonzalez, and determined the two “(attempted) to disguise their illegal activity by transferring the funds to several bank accounts and shortly closing them to elude financial investigators and law enforcement.”
Police believe the two are responsible for more cases of fraud.
Anyone with information regarding Mendieta or Gonzalez's crimes are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 or 866-471-8477.