Miami Tax Fraud Lawyers

Miami Tax Fraud Lawyers: When Court Orders Get Ignored For 14 Years And $20 Million

Beatriz Toledo was already under a permanent federal injunction. In 2010, a federal judge ordered her to stop preparing tax returns. She didn’t stop. For 14 more years, she continued operating her business – Immigration and Tax Service Group LLC – in Hialeah. She prepared false returns. She caused $20 million in fraud to the IRS. When prosecutors finally caught up with her again, the injunction she had violated for over a decade became evidence of her willful disregard for the law. Her sentence: nearly five years in federal prison plus $20 million in restitution.

The Southern District of Florida has seen this pattern repeatedly. Preparers who operate despite court orders. Wealthy individuals who hide money in Swiss accounts for decades. Conspiracy networks that manufacture false refunds at scale. When federal prosecutors in Miami bring tax charges, they’re often dealing with defendants who thought they had found ways to beat the system. The system catches up eventually.

14 Years Violating A Court Order

In 2010, a federal district judge entered a permanent injunction against Beatriz Toledo. The court order prohibited her from preparing tax returns. It was supposed to protect taxpayers from her fraudulent practices. The injunction was a warning – a legal prohibition backed by the full authority of the federal courts.

Toledo ignored it. For 14 years.

Heres what Toledo did after being told by a federal judge to stop. She continued operating Immigration and Tax Service Group LLC in Hialeah. She continued preparing returns for clients. She continued fabricating false information to generate refunds her clients werent entitled to recieve.

Think about the audacity required. A federal judge tells you to stop preparing tax returns. You continue for 14 more years. You cause $20 million in additional fraud to the IRS. Every return you prepare after the injunction is a knowing violation of a court order. Every false refund you generate is willful contempt. The injunction that should have stopped her became the evidence that proved she knew exactly what she was doing wrong.

Toledo pleaded guilty in December 2024 to aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. She was sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison, plus one year of supervised release. The restitution order: $20 million to the IRS.

35 Years Hidden In Swiss Accounts

Dan Rotta is a wealthy Miami businessman. Between 1985 and 2020, he hid more than $20 million in assets in dozens of secret Swiss accounts at five different Swiss banks – UBS, Credit Suisse, Bank Bonhôte, and Bank Julius Baer. 35 years of hidden money. Five different banks. Dozens of accounts. A systematic effort to keep assets invisible to the IRS.

Heres the thing about Swiss bank secrecy. It used to work. For decades, Switzerland protected account holder information from foreign governments. Americans could hide money there with reasonable confidence that the IRS would never find it. That era is over.

International agreements have transformed Swiss banking. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act requires foreign banks to report accounts held by U.S. persons. UBS alone paid $780 million in 2009 and turned over account information. Credit Suisse pleaded guilty to helping clients evade taxes.

For anyone in Miami with undisclosed foreign accounts, the Rotta case should be terrifying. 35 years of successful concealment ended in guilty plea. The Swiss banks that promised secrecy disclosed everything. The strategy that worked for three decades dosent work anymore. If you have money hidden overseas that you havent reported, investigators may already know about it.

57 Months For The Conspiracy

Juan Mendieta of Miami-Dade County was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison in January 2025. He had pleaded guilty to one count of criminal conspiracy and four counts of aiding and assisting the preparation of false tax returns. His restitution order: over $11 million to the IRS.

Beginning in 2019 and continuing through at least 2023, Mendieta conspired with others to prepare fraudulent tax returns for his clients. The method: false business losses and expenses that generated inflated federal tax refunds.

Heres the thing about tax fraud conspiracies in Miami. They require multiple people working together. Mendieta “conspired with others” – meaning at least one other person was involved. Conspiracy charges mean everyone in the scheme becomes liable for the actions of everyone else. When one conspirator gets caught, investigators follow the connections to the others.

2,000 False Returns

Wesner Jean-Pierre owned a tax preparation business called WJP Financial Services, LLC in Pensacola. Between 2015 and 2019, he filed nearly 2,000 false tax returns with the IRS. Two thousand returns. Over four years. Thats an average of 500 fraudulent filings per year. More then one per day.

Consider the scale of that operation. Each return required client information. Each return required fabricated data. Processing 2,000 fraudulent returns isnt a side activity – its a full-time fraud operation.

He was sentenced to two years and two months in federal prison. His restitution order: $830,840 to the IRS. The clients who used WJP Financial Services now have returns in IRS systems prepared by a convicted fraudster. Nearly 2,000 of them.

The $6.8 Million In Hidden Dividends

Joseph Stewart is a Miami businessman. A federal grand jury indicted him for evading taxes on millions in income and filing false tax returns. From 2013 to 2021, Stewart earned more than $6.8 million in dividends from his 50% ownership in a business that sold internet access to American service members and contractors stationed abroad.

The income wasnt complicated. It was dividends – ownership distributions from a legitimate business. The obligation wasnt unclear. Dividend income must be reported on tax returns. Stewart chose not to report it. For nearly a decade.

Heres the thing about dividend evasion. Its harder to hide then cash. The business that paid the dividends has records. The banks that processed the payments have records. The K-1 forms that report partnership distributions go to both the IRS and the recipient.

Floridas Federal-Only Reality

Florida has no state income tax. For Miami residents, that’s often celebrated – one less tax to worry about. But there’s a hidden consequence: there is no state-level tax fraud prosecution for income tax issues. Everything goes federal.

Heres what that means practically. In states with income tax, tax fraud might be prosecuted at the state level. State penalties. State prison. In Florida, federal prosecutors handle all income tax fraud cases. That means federal sentencing guidelines. Federal prison. Federal consequences that are often harsher.

For anyone facing tax fraud exposure in Miami, this is critical. There is no state-level “lesser” option. Your case goes to federal court or it doesnt go anywhere. Federal conviction rates exceed 90%. Federal sentences for tax fraud are measured in years, not months.

The Southern Districts Approach To Major Fraud

The Southern District of Florida has demonstrated through case after case that it will pursue tax fraud aggressivly. Beatriz Toledo – nearly five years for violating a court order while committing $20 million in fraud. Juan Mendieta – 57 months for conspiracy. Dan Rotta – guilty plea for 35 years of Swiss account concealment.

Heres the reality of federal tax investigations. By the time charges get filed, investigations have been running for months or years. The Toledo investigation traced her continued activity despite a 14-year-old injunction. The Rotta investigation traced accounts across five Swiss banks over 35 years.

And the 90% federal conviction rate means most people who get charged get convicted. Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida dont bring cases they cant prove.

Defense Strategy In Miami

If your facing tax fraud exposure in Miami, the calculus involves understanding how the Southern District operates.

The Toledo case shows what happens when you violate court orders – nearly five years. The Rotta case shows that Swiss accounts get disclosed now – even after 35 years. The Mendieta case shows that conspiracies result in everyone getting charged.

If an investigation has already begun, damage control becomes the priority. Understanding what investigators know. Protecting against self-incrimination. Navigating toward the least damaging outcome possible. And if you have undisclosed foreign accounts, understanding that Swiss bank secrecy is over – the banks have been disclosing for years, and your accounts may already be known to the IRS.

The time to address tax fraud exposure is before any of that happens. Voluntary disclosure programs exist. Coming forward before the IRS finds you creates opportunities to resolve issues civily – with penalties and interest, but potentialy without prison. Appeals go to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Your exposure persists untill you address it.