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Among those scammed by Yezenia Castillo, 46, of Hoboken, were a non-profit corporation dedicated to providing affordable housing to Englewood residents and a private elementary and intermediate school in Jersey City, a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark says.
Posing as a CPA, Castillo got hired “to provide various financial and accounting services" that she never delivered to non-profit organizations throughout New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Castillo quietly transferred some of the money to herself and pocketed other amounts that she falsely claimed would go toward paying their taxes, Sellinger said.
She even “falsified receipts to make it appear to the victims as if their taxes were paid,” the U.S. attorney said.
Castillo took a deal from the government rather than risk the potential outcome of a trial, pleading guilty in federal court to one count each of wire fraud and tax evasion on Thursday, April 6.
Sellinger credited special agents of three federal agencies -- the FBI, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of the Inspector General and IRS – Criminal Investigation -- with the investigation leading to the guilty plea, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Blake Coppotelli of his Economic Crimes Unit.
U.S District Judge Susan D. Wigenton scheduled sentencing for Aug. 7 in Newark.
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