Arkansas Landscaper Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud | OPA

An Arkansas resident pleaded guilty today to filing a false corporate tax return.

According to court documents, Pedro Garcia owned and operated Garcia Lawn Care, a landscaping business located in Rogers, Arkansas. From 2014 through 2020, Garcia underreported the true gross receipts from his lawn care business. Garcia’s customers mainly paid Garcia by check for his services. Garcia cashed most of these checks, rather than depositing them into his business accounts. Garcia used the cash to pay himself, his workers and other expenses. In total, Garcia did not report over $1 million in gross receipts, causing a tax loss of $208,844.

Garcia is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison. Garcia also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes for the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Robert Kemins and Nicholas Schilling of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.