Fresno real estate broker sentenced for tax evasion
- Details
- Published on 11/29/-0001 - 4:00 pm
- Written by Business Journal staff
A Fresno real estate broker was recently sentenced in federal court to 18 months in prison for failing to pay more than $200,000 in income taxes.
In a plea agreement, Brian Keith Cortez admitted to evading an assessment of his taxes from 2003 to 2006 on income from his Fresno real estate and mortgage brokerage businesses, Mortgage Express, Mortgage Express Inc., and Valley Investment Properties.
Cortez, 47, who owned and operated the Fresno branch of Mortgage Express and Mortgage Express Inc., provided home mortgage brokerage services as well as refinancing on mortgages and other services for securing financing on home purchases.
For each loan processed by the business, Cortez earned a 10 percent commission and a $200 fee — income that was not reported to the IRS following an investigation by the agency's Criminal Investigation Division.
Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy R. Jehangiri prosecuted the case.
The sentence by Chief United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii includes 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and $199,160 in restitution.
