A Corona, California, man has been sentenced to 72 months in federal prison for preparing and filing false tax returns, a scheme that caused at least $28 million in losses to the IRS, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced today.
Salvador Gonzalez, 55, operated Grace’s Lighthouse Resource Center, Inc., a tax preparation business in Corona, and was sentenced on Monday by U.S. District Judge Jesus G. Bernal.
In addition to the prison sentence, Gonzalez was ordered to pay $403,908 in restitution. He pleaded guilty on June 17, 2024, to three counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, the department stated.
According to court documents, from 2013 to 2021, Gonzalez advised clients to create fake corporations and title personal assets—such as homes and cars—in the names of those corporations.
He then directed them to submit fraudulent business expenses on their tax filings. An associate of Gonzalez prepared tax returns for these sham corporations, using false information provided by the clients.