Four Honduran Nationals Charged in Florida with Tax Fraud and Operating Illegal Money Business

www.hoodline.com, Javier Rodrigues, May 8, 2025

Last week, a significant federal indictment unfolded in Florida, implicating four Honduran nationals in an elaborate scheme that skirted tax laws and manipulated the payroll systems of construction workers. As reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, the charges include conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

In a complex operation lasting from 2015 to 2022, Iris Villafranca, Mario Flores, Osman Zapata, and Cristofer Oseguera Giron are accused of using shell companies to manage an unlicensed check cashing service, cashing approximately $89 million in checks. According to the indictment, construction subcontractors would pay their workers in cash using this service, thereby avoiding taxes and employing undocumented workers.

Not only did this scheme primarily focus on cash payroll, but it also involved circumventing employment tax obligations by filing false tax documents with the IRS. Furthermore, the group is charged with defrauding workers' compensation insurance companies by leasing out certificates of insurance and relaying fraudulent information about worker coverage and salaries. The indictment details that Villafranca went a step further, allegedly filing false individual income tax returns that omitted income derived from the illegal payroll operation and additional earnings from real estate rentals.

Should the courts find Villafranca guilty, she could face up to five years in prison for the conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, 20 years for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and further punishment for tax fraud and for each false tax return filed. Similarly, should Flores, Zapata, and Giron be convicted, they would face up to five years for the conspiracy to run the money transmitting operation also five years for conspiracy to commit tax fraud. The sentences, contingent on district court decisions, will be influenced by the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other contributing legal factors.

The Justice Department's Tax Division's Acting Deputy Assistant General Karen E. Kelly, alongside U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe, announced the charges. Investigations have been led by the IRS Criminal Investigation with support from Homeland Security Investigations. The legal proceedings will be managed by Senior Litigation Counsel Sean Beaty and Trial Attorneys Kavitha Bondada, Rebecca A. Caruso of the Tax Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Daniels.

News article: Four Honduran Nationals Charged in Florida with Tax Fraud and