Andrew Zepeda Hansack, a 39-year-old man from Riverside, pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return. Hansack is facing a statutory maximum sentence of three years in federal prison for each count. He also agreed to pay a criminal fine of $50,000 and was permanently barred from preparing tax returns for anyone but himself and his wife.

$4 Million Losses

Apparently, Hansack began preparing personal income tax returns with false itemized deductions in January 2015, indicating that they had paid mortgage interests for their homes when he knew they didn't even own a home. In the years since, he knowingly made other false deductions for things like false medical expenses, sales tax, and cash or check gifts.

Between 2015 and 2019, Hansack admitted to filing 2,533 tax returns with false deductions, resulting in an almost $4 million loss to the IRS.

Be Wary of Plea Deals

In the United States, defendants are offered plea deals by the prosecution when the prosecution is unsure of their chances of winning the case. Other times, they are offered to encourage the defendant to offer more information on a particular aspect of the case that could lead to other individuals or conspirators being charged.

But sometimes, plea deals are used by the prosecution to make defendants think that without the deal, they will spend the rest of their life behind bars. As such, plea deals should be avoided unless there is no other choice. Unfortunately, many criminal defense attorneys are afraid of marring their records with a loss, pushing their clients into taking the plea deal even if it isn't necessarily in the client's best interest.

Attorney Vitaly Sigal of Sigal Law Group understands the necessity of plea deals and when they are appropriate. As an experienced and knowledgeable criminal defense attorney, he will be able to determine whether a proposed plea deal is in your best interest. Attorney Sigal never backs down from a fight. Call 818-325-0579 today for a free consultation.