Two Southern California cousins were sentenced today after pleading no contest to felony state income tax charges, according to the Franchise Tax Board (FTB).
William Lewis Rubin III, 23, of Long Beach, and Robert George Thomas, Jr., 26, of Inglewood, each pleaded no contest to a felony tax fraud charge for filing a false 2001 state income tax return. In a negotiated plea agreement, Rubin a nd Thomas will each receive 300 hours of Caltrans Community Service and three years of formal felony probation. In addition, the pair was ordered to pay restitution to the state of nearly $6,000, which includes the cost of the investigation.
Both Rubin and Thomas attached phony W-2 forms to their state tax returns claiming fraudulent tax refunds of $1,530 and $1,084. The FTB is pursuing a number of cases involving this type of fraud. Most of the fraudulent tax refunds are discovered by the FTB during routine processing before the false refunds are issued.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David M. Horwitz heard the plea in the Division 50. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office prosecuted these cases.