Man Is Indicted on Charges of Defrauding IRS
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LOS ANGELES — A federal grand jury indicted a Vista man Friday for allegedly filing fake tax returns and collecting more than $227,000 in unearned refunds, the Internal Revenue Service said.
Robert Etienne Leonard, 46, is charged with 19 counts of mail fraud, making false claims against the government, forging signatures on government checks and stealing government property, according to the indictment.
If convicted on all counts, Leonard could be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison and fined $1 million, the IRS said.
Leonard was arrested March 17 in Dana Point and is being held without bail in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles. His attorney, H. Dean Steward, said bail was denied because Leonard was considered likely to flee. He is scheduled to be arraigned April 8.
Using rented mailboxes in Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano and a series of false names and Social Security numbers, Leonard allegedly filed 28 fake income tax returns and then claimed refunds, all in amounts under $5,000, according to the indictment and other court documents.
Earlier this week, Steward questioned the timing of Leonard’s arrest, saying that the IRS seems to bring such charges only during tax season.
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