Tax Preparer Indicted for Claiming Fraudulent Homebuyer Tax Credits

An Arizona tax preparer has been indicted for filing 84 tax returns fraudulently claiming the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.

Jose Jesus Gonzalez, 45, operated Gonzco Insurance and Tax Services since 2004. In 2009, he operated three offices, two in the Phoenix area and one in Tucson.

For tax year 2008, Gonzco Insurance and Tax Services filed 89 returns which claimed the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, 84 of which were later determined to be false as the taxpayer did not purchase a home during the qualifying time period. Approximately $600,000.00 in false credits were claimed by the firm.

He was indicted Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Arraignment has been scheduled for April 19 before Magistrate Judge Bernardo P Velasco.

The First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit was a stimulus measure aimed at jumpstarting the housing market in the wake of the financial crisis. The 2008 version of the credit provided up to $7,500 to taxpayers who were buying a home, but required the tax credit to be repaid over a 15-year period. The 2009 fiscal stimulus law increased the maximum tax credit to $8,000 and did not require taxpayers to repay the credit as long as it remained their principle home for 36 months after the purchase date.

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