Irving tax return preparers charged in fraud, identity theft

Two Irving tax preparers have been charged with a total of 50 counts related to filing fake returns, the Department of Justice announced Monday.

An indictment detailing the charges against Francisco Ventura and Mario Melendez was unsealed Friday. Both have been charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., and multiple counts — 30 for Ventura and seven for Melendez — of filing fraudulent tax returns for clients.

Ventura has also been charged with five counts of wire fraud, five counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of filing a fraudulent personal tax return.

Ventura owned several tax preparation businesses in Irving including AJJ Tax and More and I-Care Financial Services. He reportedly employed Melendez as a return preparer at one of his businesses, Uptown Multi Services.

From November 2013 through May 2014, Ventura and Melendez allegedly prepared income tax returns that claimed fake businesses and education expenses, and taught employees of two of the businesses to falsify clients' returns, the indictment alleges.

The indictment also alleges that Ventura underreported his income in 2014 and stole a person's name and preparer tax identification number to file fake returns with the IRS.

Ventura and Melendez face five years in prison for the conspiracy charge and three years for each of the fraudulent tax return charges.

Ventura also faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count, three years on the fraudulent individual return count and a mandatory two years in prison on each aggravated identity theft count.