Man Sentenced to 3 Years for False Tax Returns: Claimed More Than $13 Million in Refunds, Bought a Maserati and Gold
FRESNO, Calif. — Elk Grove is in Sacramento County, California, and the sentence was handed down in federal court in Fresno, in Fresno County. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California announced on November 2 that Marvin Charo Collins, 52, formerly of Elk Grove, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay $682,768 in restitution to the IRS for making a false claim against the United States. U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston imposed the sentence.
According to court documents, between 2017 and 2023, Collins filed more than 15 false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service in which he reported false income and false tax withholdings and claimed millions of dollars in tax refunds. In total, Collins falsely claimed more than $13 million in tax refunds. As part of his scheme, Collins created fictitious entities, including the "Marvin C Collins Estate," through which he filed his false tax returns. For one of the false tax returns, Collins received a refund of $682,768. Using the proceeds of his fraud scheme, Collins purchased a house, a 2016 Maserati, and more than $300,000 in precious metals, including gold and silver bars.
On January 20, 2026, Collins pleaded guilty to all five counts of the indictment, about three weeks before his scheduled trial. The charges stem from his use of a convoluted "redemption" scheme, used by tax protestors and sovereign citizens, that has been repeatedly rejected by the courts.
"For years, this defendant sought to enrich himself through a fraudulent tax scheme rooted in theories that have been rejected time and again by the courts," said U.S. Attorney Eric Grant. John Abram, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) San Francisco Field Office, said Collins continued submitting false tax returns despite repeated warnings. IRS-CI conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Arelis M. Clemente prosecuted the case. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Fresno 的 Robert E. Coyle 联邦法院大楼（资料图）。Justin Loyear（Cadking3）摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Robert E. Coyle United States Courthouse in Fresno (file photo). By Justin Loyear (Cadking3), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
