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A 79-year-old man was arrested in Miami after being accused of running a fraud scheme that allegedly affected multiple victims for over half a million dollars.
According to the investigation, the man was posing as a certified public accountant (CPA) and was offering tax services through his company Mabro Business Consulting & Tax Corp.
From that structure, it attracted clients who trusted in its supposed professional experience to manage their taxes.
However, the police determined that the accused, identified as Francisco A. Marrero - whose nationality has not been disclosed - did not have a license to practice public accounting in the state of Florida, which constitutes a separate offense that aggravates his legal situation.
The scheme came to light following reports from several victims who began to notice irregularities in their tax dealings.
According to the police, the payments made to the company “were not processed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or were reported for amounts lower than those paid by checks or transfers.”
In other words, clients handed over money to fulfill their tax obligations, but those funds either did not reach the IRS or arrived incomplete.
To sustain the deception, Marrero allegedly "created and provided fraudulent payment receipts as part of the scheme," which kept the victims under the false belief that their taxes were being properly managed.
This type of fraud is often particularly difficult to detect in the short term, as errors or omissions may take years to come to light, when the taxpayer faces penalties or accumulated debts.
The detainee was captured by the Miami Police Department and faces serious charges including "organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, unauthorized practice of public accounting, and money laundering related to a financial transaction," according to the authorities.
The case reveals a pattern of sustained deception over the years, based on professional identity theft and the manipulation of taxpayer trust, according to Telemundo 51 citing local police.
A crime more common than it seems
Authorities warn that this method is one of the most common among fraudulent tax preparers: charging for tax services without remitting payments to the IRS and providing false documentation as support.
The risk increases during tax season - which this year began on January 26 and extends until April 15 - when the demand for accounting services rises, along with the exposure of taxpayers to this type of fraud.
The researchers do not rule out that the extent of the fraud may be greater.
“The detectives believe there may be additional victims who have not come forward yet,” the authorities stated.
Therefore, the police urged anyone who suspects they have been affected to contact the Financial Crimes Unit of Miami at the numbers 305-603-6280 or 305-579-6111.
These events demonstrate a growing pattern of financial fraud in the region, where criminals exploit verification gaps and the trust of victims to operate for long periods without being detected.
As the legal proceedings against Marrero progress, authorities emphasize the importance of verifying the credentials of any tax preparer before handing over money or personal information, as a first line of defense against such schemes.
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