Polk County woman sentenced in tax fraud conspiracy

TAMPA, Fla. — A Polk County woman has been sentenced for her role in a construction-related tax fraud conspiracy, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO).

Gabriela Inamagua has been sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States and the Internal Revenue Service. U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington also ordered Inamagua to pay restitution to two victim insurance companies and to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $8,953,629.24.

Inamagua pleaded guilty on October 4, 2023.

According to court documents, Inamagua owned and managed two “shell” construction companies that purported to supply construction services and labor for construction contractors and subcontractors. To comply with Florida law, Inamagua’s companies were required to secure and maintain adequate worker’s compensation insurance coverage.

Her companies reportedly had agreements with contractors and subcontractors to use workers purported to be Inamagua’s employees at construction sites, and these workers were often undocumented aliens who were working for and under the daily supervision and direction of the contractors.

Prosecutors said Inamagua or others then regularly received “payroll checks” from contractors they cashed at various financial institutions to pay Inamagua’s purported “employees” and other related expenses.

According to court documents, during the period charged, Inamagua falsely and fraudulently represented in insurance applications that her companies had a very limited payroll and a very limited number of employees who worked on construction job sites.

Inamagau also is said to have caused the transmission of false and fraudulent wire communications to numerous contractors claiming that her companies’ employees had full worker’s compensation coverage.

In reality, Inamagua’s companies reportedly received and cashed more than $34 million in checks from various construction contractors for these purported “employees.” These payroll figures far exceeded the limited payroll figures that Inamagua had reported to her worker’s compensation insurance companies.

“The construction industry as a whole suffers when fraudsters exploit the system by creating fictitious shell companies to illegally pay workers off the books to scam insurance companies and avoid employment taxes,” said IRS-CI Acting Special Agent in Charge Tara K. Reed.

“Today’s sentencing is a reminder that all businesses and employees are responsible for their fair share of taxes. IRS-CI and our law enforcement partners will continue building cases with these schemes and bringing those responsible to justice.”

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the State of Florida Department of Financial Services, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations. It is part of a lengthy investigation by those agencies into the use of shell companies and “ghost” employees in the construction industry. Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer is prosecuting it.