Orlando tax firm owner, who’s fought to keep Trump off ballots, arrested on 33 counts of tax fraud

John Anthony Castro, 40, faces charges on 33 counts related to aiding and abetting the preparation and presentation of false and fraudulent tax returns. He was the proprietor of Castro & Company LLC, a virtual tax preparation enterprise operating in Orlando, Mansfield (TX), and Washington D.C.

The US Department of Justice released the information late this afternoon here.

Castro has more recently made a name for himself by identifying as the man who’s tried to have former president Donald Trump removed from ballots across the United States.

From Law.com:

The Republican presidential candidate who has filed 27 of at least 40 cases pending across the nation seeking to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the 2024 presidential primary ballot had a conversation with Law.com to explain his motivation, legal strategy and what comes next.

John Anthony Castro, a lesser-known candidate seeking the nomination to the Republican primary ballot, filed his first lawsuit a little more than a year ago on the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Since then, he has filed 27 new pro se suits in federal courts across the country seeking to prevent Trump from appearing on primary ballots based on the insurrection clause in Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The states where Castro has filed these lawsuits include:

• California
• West Virginia
• Nevada
• Michigan
• Nevada
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• Oregon
• Oklahoma
• Alaska
• South Carolina
• Texas
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming
• Vermont
• Virginia

Castro & Co. tax firm claims to have an office in Downtown Orlando on Orange Avenue in the same building as the Corona Cigar Company.

Castro is accused of fabricating false deductions without informing the taxpayers, aiming to secure inflated refunds. Allegedly, he frequently proposed splitting the extra refund amount with the taxpayers. In 2018, an undercover agent, posing as a taxpayer in need of tax preparation services, contacted Castro & Company for assistance. Reportedly, Castro declined an in-person meeting unless a $5,000 retainer was provided but offered virtual assistance.

As per the indictment, a Castro employee conducted a telephone interview with the agent regarding deductions. The employee stated that Castro would make all decisions on the tax filing content, failing to identify any deductions applicable to the agent. Subsequently, in March 2018, Castro purportedly filed the agent’s tax return, claiming $29,339 in fraudulent deductions. The IRS issued a $6,007 refund, of which Castro received $2,999 for his services, and the agent received the remaining $3,008. Authorities allege that Castro repeated this modus operandi with other taxpayers.

If convicted on all counts, Castro could face a maximum sentence of 99 years in prison, equating to three years per count.

More in the New York Times.

Castro has responded to the indictment by denying any wrongdoing and asserting that the case is a politically motivated attack against him. He claims that his firm had already resolved a tax dispute with the IRS in 2021 to the tune of $700,000.

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