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New Haven County resident Ana Nunez, also known as Ana Pagoda, age 51, of Naugatuck, was sentenced in Hartford to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for filing false tax returns for clients of her tax preparation service.
US Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery said that between 2011 and 2016, Nunez owned and operated Nunez MultiServices, a tax return preparation service located on Church Street in Naugatuck.
During that time, prosecutors said that Nunez filed approximately 6,000 returns for more than 2,500 different individual taxpayers.
On several tax returns she prepared for clients, Nunez routinely inflated income or created fictitious income, officials said, including falsifying expenses such as education and childcare expenses, and falsified deductions, such as business mileage.
Prosecutors said that after a grand jury charged her with multiple counts of filing false tax returns, Nunez proceeded to obstruct the prosecution of the case by creating false invoices to clients, which she then provided to the government in an attempt to justify additional cash she took from her clients’ refunds.
She also attempted to intimidate a potential witness, according to Avery.
Nunez pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and assisting the filing of a false tax return in January 2020.
In addition to her prison term, Nunez was also ordered to pay $501,933 in restitution to the IRS, and $78,829 to the State of Connecticut.
She remains released on bond and is scheduled to report to prison on Monday, July 25.
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