An Orange County real estate agent was charged Wednesday with defrauding the Internal Revenue Service by hiding income he earned from the sale of multiple real estate properties.
John W. Rampello of Santa Ana was charged with subscribing to a false tax return and aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return, according to IRS Special Agent Leia Bellis.
An indictment alleges Rampello lied to the IRS by either reporting losses or less than $30,000 income on his 2014 and 2015 tax returns when he knew his income was substantially more.
The indictment alleges Rampello also signed off on a tax return that claimed he made about $280,000, a claim the IRS said Rampello knew was false because he had made substantially more from real estate sales that year.
“This time of year, millions of hard-working Americans are filing timely and accurate tax returns,” IRS Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Korner said. “Meanwhile, IRS criminal investigators are busy fulfilling their charge to ensure that individuals who evade their taxes are held accountable.
“Mr. Rampello disregarded his tax obligation for three years, blatantly leaving out substantial amounts of income. This indictment should serve as a comfort to the honest taxpayers that we will continue to fight for a level playing field for all.”
Rampello is expected to be arraigned in the coming weeks and, if convicted of all charges, could face up to nine years in federal prison, Bellis said.