A Palo Alto woman will spend two years in state prison following her sentencing on charges of elder abuse and filing false state income tax returns, according to the Franchise Tax Board (FTB).
Rosalina Navarro, 46, worked as a caregiver for her former employer, a late Stanford University professor and his wife. Navarro, a long-time employee of the elderly couple, abused her position of trust by issuing duplicate paychecks to herself, and having each of the victims sign one of the checks. The scheme was discovered when the couple’s daughter found duplicate checks when she reviewed her parents’ bank statements. The daughter then notified the Stanford University Police Department of the fraud.
Navarro also failed to claim any of the embezzled funds on her 2001 and 2002 state income tax returns. All income is taxable including income from illegal sources. Navarro was ordered to pay restitution of $28,477 to the FTB, representing the amount of unpaid tax, penalties, interest, and the cost of the investigation.
The underreporting of income is part of the $6.5 billion tax gap now facing California. The tax gap is defined as the difference between the tax that is owed and the tax that is paid.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Diane Northway handed down the sentence in Department 89 of the Palo Alto Courthouse on November 18. Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Cindy Hendrickson prosecuted the case. This was a joint investigation between the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office and the FTB.