A California woman was sentenced to 60 months in prison on conspiracy and bank fraud charges, federal authorities said.
According to court filings, Jacqueline Ramos, aka Jackie Acosta, of Salinas, conspired with her co-defendants to file false income tax returns seeking refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). These returns reported fake wages and fraudulently claimed dependents, education expenses, and tax credits. Ramos and her co-conspirators directed the fraudulently obtained refunds into bank accounts they controlled. United States District Court Judge Lucy H. Koh determined that the returns sought more than $1.6 million in refunds from the IRS.
On July 13, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Ramos, 49, and four of her co-conspirators, charging them with conspiring to submit false claims against the United States. Ramos and her husband, Antonio Ahumada Rivas, were also each charged with two counts of bank fraud. On Oct. 17, 2018, Ramos entered a guilty plea to the conspiracy count and two counts of bank fraud. On Nov. 14, 2018, co-defendant, Norma Morfin Mandujano was sentenced to 30 months in prison for conspiracy. Co-defendants Antonio Ahumada Rivas and Ana Bajo have sentencing dates of March 27 and April 10 respectively.
In addition to the 60-month sentence, Judge Koh ordered Ramos to pay $1,641,610 restitution to the United States. Judge Koh also ordered forfeiture in the amount of $736,592 and ordered Ramos to serve three years of supervised release. The defendant will begin serving the sentence on May 29.
