News Releases
August 31, 2022: Reseda Tax Preparer Thelma Carcamo, Others Charged With Stealing Client Tax Refunds
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Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced today that tax preparer Thelma Carcamo, her husband and a former credit union employee have been charged with stealing thousands of dollars in state and federal tax refunds from her clients.
“I know first-hand the vulnerability that comes with being a monolingual Spanish speaker in a new country,” District Attorney Gascón said. “Most of these victims are Spanish speakers, and many are new to the United States and unfamiliar with how the tax systems operate. My office is committed to seeking justice on behalf of the people who lost their hard-earned money in this scam.
“We believe many more people may have been victimized. I urge anyone who suspects they were defrauded to call the Los Angeles Police Department’s Financial Crimes Section hotline at (818) 374-9420,” the District Attorney added.
Carcamo (dob 7/31/54) was charged with 27 counts of filing a fraudulent tax return, 17 counts of identity theft, 17 counts of forgery, 15 counts of grand theft and four counts of tax evasion.
Her husband Rosendo Nunez (dob 09/27/1955) is charged with two counts of identity theft and two counts of forgery.
Former Premier America Credit Union employee Maria Valenzuela (dob 4/29/68) was charged with 17 counts of identity theft and 17 counts of forgery.
Carcamo and Nunez are scheduled to be arraigned today in case BA508380 in Department 30 of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Valenzuela entered a not guilty plea on Tuesday.
Carcamo operated Reseda-based Financial Express International and served primarily Spanish-speaking clientele.
She is accused of giving clients fake federal and state tax returns showing smaller tax refunds than were actually owed, and then keeping the difference between the amount she told her clients they were owed and the money actually refunded by the government.
Carcamo is accused of stealing $69,747 from 24 victims.
In addition, she is accused of willfully failing to file taxes with the California Franchise Tax Board from 2017 through 2020, at a loss of $61,440 to the state.
The case remains under investigation by the Franchise Tax Board and the Los Angeles Police Department.
