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Miami Accountants Face Organized Crime Charges After Stealing From Clients

Miami Accountants Face Organized Crime Charges After Stealing From Clients

Two Miami accountants face organized crime charges and other federal charges after committing tax fraud. The duo allegedly stole tens of thousands of dollars from clients.

Per Miami-Dade police records, Juan Carlos Mendieta, 50, of Miami Gardens and Leandro Machado Gonzalez, 26, operated a tax preparation firm called Famous Accounting, Inc.

The duo reportedly specialized in preparing 1040 personal tax returns but ultimately stole over tens of thousands of dollars in refunds.

Per South Florida news station Local 10, Miami-Dade police spokesman Detective Chris Thomas shared that the accountants would “falsify the information submitted to the IRS and use their business bank account to collect the inflated tax returns."

The outlet also noted that the case has been under investigation since February 2021, when a Famous Accounting client realized she had never gotten her tax refund. 

The victim of the tax scam received a check from Mendieta for $29,010, but the check proved to be worthless when she attempted to cash it. That was when she contacted police.

The police noted that the duo “(attempted) to disguise their illegal activity by transferring the funds to several bank accounts and shortly closing them to elude financial investigators and law enforcement.”

WSVN 7 Miami shared details about the charges that have current been brought against Gonzalez and Mendieta, which include organized scheme to defraud, money laundering and grand theft.

Miami authorities believe there are likely to be numerous victims and encourage anyone who used Famous Accounting, Inc. to check their records and contact Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 or 866-471-8477 if anything appears to be amiss. 

Have you ever been the victim of tax fraud?

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Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

Rebekah's search engine optimization career began completely by accident as a college student. Over the course of her career so far, she has "grown up" with the SEO industry, from writing content while juggling classes to managing her own teams of writers and overseeing SEO strategy in subsequent roles. She is excited to bring her passion for high-quality content to CountingWorks, Inc.

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