Used car dealing brothers convicted of tax evasion

LOS ANGELES >> Two used car dealing brothers from Rosemead and Los Angeles have begun serving three-year jail sentences after pleading “no contest” last week to evaded more than $1.5 million in sales tax, authorities announced Wednesday.
Dagoberto Duenas, 59, of Rosemead and Mario Ernesto Gonzalez, 53, of Los Angeles entered their pleas Dec. 2 in Los Angeles Superior Court, California Board of Equalization officials said in a written statement.
Each brother was sentenced to three years in prison, to be served in county jail, for failing to report income from auto sales between 2007 and 2009 at Los Angeles Used Car dealerships they owned, officials said.
“Duenas and Gonzalez owned and operated Space Auto Sales and Spin Auto Sales, respectively,” according to the BOE statement.
BOE officials began investigating the brothers in 2008, “…when it was discovered that they had failed to report a large amount of sales,” the statement said.
“Tax evasion is a serious crime and it is gratifying that these men will be held to account for depriving our state’s honest taxpayers of more than $1.5 million in services,” BOE Chairman Jerome E. Horton said.
Investigators determined Duenas had failed to report at least $12.3 million in taxable sales, resulting in more than $1 million in unreported sales tax, BOE officials said. Gonzalez failed to report almost $500,000 of sales tax.

Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Linkedin Email