ROCKFORD — A Crystal Lake woman was sentenced today in federal court by U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala for mail fraud.
PATTY CORDOBA, 44, of Crystal Lake, Ill., was sentenced to 55 months in federal prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution of $1,115,072. Cordoba pleaded guilty to mail fraud on May 23, 2016. In the written plea agreement, Cordoba admitted that from March 1, 2009, to May 18, 2012, she and her co-defendants participated in a scheme to defraud and obtain refunds from the United States Treasury Department.
Cordoba owned and managed Patty’s Tax Service in McHenry, Ill. Cordoba and her employees - co-defendants MARIO CORDOBA, LUISA CARBAJAL and ALICIA AREVALO - prepared and filed over 200 fraudulent personal federal income tax returns for other co-defendants OLGA LIDIA DIAZ-HERNANDEZ, VICTOR HERNANDEZ, VERONICA SANCHEZ-BARRADAS and CESAR BESICHE, and other individuals, by claiming false amounts of income and credits for tax years 2006 through 2011. Those returns were mailed and filed with the IRS, falsely claiming over $1,000,000 in tax refunds.
Based on the false tax returns submitted to the IRS, the United States Treasury issued and mailed tax refund checks to the addresses listed on the false tax returns, or caused the refunds to be directly deposited into bank accounts in the names of the filers. The IRS issued approximately $1,115,072 in refunds to which Patty Cordoba and her co-schemers were not entitled.
The seven co-defendants previously pleaded guilty to mail fraud and were sentenced:
Arevalo, 49, of Poplar Grove, Ill., pleaded guilty on May 16, 2016, and was sentenced on August 29, 2016, to 21 months in federal prison, and ordered to pay restitution of $1,115,072.
Besiche, also known as Cesar Beciche-Barranco, 50, of McHenry, Ill., pleaded guilty on Dec. 8, 2015, and was sentenced on March 15, 2016, to time served and was ordered released to the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for processing of deportation proceedings against him. Besiche was also ordered to pay restitution of $74,902.
Carbajal, 54, of Marengo, Ill., pleaded guilty on Feb. 26, 2016, and was sentenced on June 23, 2016, to 16 months in federal prison, to be followed by a term of supervised release of 2 years, and ordered to pay restitution of $1,115,072.
Mario Cordoba, 49, of Crystal Lake, Ill., pleaded guilty on May 26, 2016, and was sentenced on September 1, 2016, to 33 months in federal prison, to be followed by 3 years supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of 1,115,072.
Diaz-Hernandez, also known as Olga Diaz, 46, of McHenry, Ill., pleaded guilty on March 21, 2016, and was sentenced on July 8, 2016, to 21 months in federal prison, and ordered to pay restitution of $166,296.
Sanchez-Barradas, 40, of McHenry, Ill., pleaded guilty on Feb. 24, 2016, and was sentenced on June 7, 2016, to 27 months in federal prison, and ordered to pay restitution of $252,398.
Hernandez, 43, of McHenry, Ill., pleaded guilty on Feb. 16, 2016, and was sentenced on May 31, 2016, to 27 months in federal prison, and ordered to pay restitution of $252,398.
Patty Cordoba's sentencing was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; James D. Robnett, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Division; E.C. Woodson, Inspector in Charge of the Chicago Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service; and James M. Gibbons, Acting Special Agent-In-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Pedersen.