Federal Tax Fraud Perpetrator Gets Conviction

Jorge Castellanos, 49, a businessman from Cummings was convicted to four years in prison following false personal income tax returns filed by Jorge in 2006 and 2007. He was found and pleaded guilty earlier this year in September after federal prosecutors identified the false claims made.

“This office will continue to aggressively prosecute individuals, who knowingly and willfully defy their tax obligations by lying and cheating,” U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates in the news release.

Castellanos along with tow unidentified individuals founded an investment firm in 2004 called GC Trading LLC. The business was founded with the intent of selling overstock golf equipment. However, Castellanos maliciously convinced his partners and investors to make transactions that went directly into his personal bank account. The funds, which were intended to go towards buying merchandise, instead went to fulfilling his own grandeur needs.

Accountants questioned the source of the funds and were told that they were sourced from loans. Lying on your tax return is a federal offense and Jorge seems to have paid the ultimate price. The false tax returns led to a tax loss of $1.3 million dollars ultimately leading to Jorge Castellanos arrest and prosecution.

Hopefully this conviction will be a lesson learned to those who want to take advantage of the federal government by committing tax fraud.