Local tax preparer pleads guilty to tax fraud scheme, over $600 thousand involved

EL PASO, Texas - An El Paso man has pleaded guilty to a tax fraud scheme, the DOJ says.

41-year-old Elein Rodela Jr. plead guilty to 14 total charges, which include aggravated identify theft, money laundering, mail and wire fraud, and the theft of government funds.

Rodela's scheme reportedly involved the use of non-U.S. citizens' names to fraudulently file federal tax refunds, and received those returns through P.O. boxes that were set up in both El Paso and New Mexico. He then allegedly laundered the money from the returns through a bank account associated with a childrens' sports team.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reported that $670,217 had been stolen by Rodela. He faces multiple lengthy prison sentences, including up to 20 years for each of the mail fraud, wire fraud, laundering, and identity theft charges, as well as an additional 10 years for the theft of government funds.

The IRS is still actively investigating this case.