TAMPA, Florida — Two Honduran nationals have been sentenced for their involvement in a multimillion-dollar off-the-books payroll scheme that resulted in significant financial losses to the United States.
Iris Villafranca and Osman Donaldo Zapata were sentenced to 204 months and 51 months in prison, respectively, for conspiring to operate an unlicensed check cashing and cash courier service business, according to court documents. From 2015 to 2022, the pair created shell companies to cash approximately $89 million in checks from construction subcontractors, charging a fee for the service. This allowed contractors to pay workers in cash without withholding payroll taxes, facilitating the employment of undocumented workers, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
Villafranca and Zapata also defrauded workers’ compensation insurance companies by leasing certificates of insurance and providing false information about the number of workers covered and their pay. Villafranca pleaded guilty to additional charges of filing false tax returns from 2019 to 2022, failing to report income from the scheme and rental properties…