Treasury, Justice file charges against vehicle parts provider for tax evasion
By The Star Staff
The Economic Crimes Division of the Department of Justice filed criminal charges Tuesday against the owner of two businesses dedicated to the sale of parts and equipment for all-terrain vehicles, who submitted false and fraudulent tax returns to the agency.
The individual should have reported over $2.4 million to the Treasury.
The charges are the product of an investigative alliance between the Department of Justice of Puerto Rico, the Department of the Treasury and the Drug Control Administration (DEA), created to eradicate tax evasion on the Island, resulting in 12 convictions for million-dollar schemes to defraud the government.
Luis Jorge Rivera Marrero, 31, owes the State over $1.6 million for failing to report personal income and income from his corporation DMSPORT INC. to the Treasury for 2019, 2020, and 2021. In addition, for 2020 and 2021, he filed false and fraudulent income tax returns for Dorado Global Group LLC. The defendant also did not remit to the Treasury over $260,000 for the payment of the Sales and Use Tax (IVU).
For these facts, he faces 64 charges under the Internal Revenue Code for a New Puerto Rico, as amended, and faces eight years in prison.
“Those who commit economic crimes deal a severe blow to the Island’s economy and to our people. People who profit by breaking tax laws are criminals who inflict damage on other citizens who require State resources to meet basic needs. For this reason, we will continue fighting tax evasion and prosecuting this type of cases involving non-compliance million-dollar schemes that affect the people’s services,” said the Secretary of Justice, Domingo Emanuelli Hernández.
For his part, the Secretary of the Treasury Department, Francisco Parés Alicea, lamented that despite the continuous guidance given to citizens on the consequences of tax evasion, unscrupulous people insist on evading responsibilities with the State.
“The case of the young businessman Luis Rivera Marrero is very similar to others that we have worked in collaboration with the Department of Justice and federal agencies, which the media have widely reviewed. However, some citizens insist on repeating evasion behaviors, even though we have stressed the ability of the Treasury to investigate the relationship between income and expenses of taxpayers, among other tools that we have, which continue to expand our field of visibility. We once again recommend taxpayers with deficiencies to approach the Department and amend any situation on time,” he said.