January 29, 2021 - SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Ronda Boone, 58, of Vallejo, was sentenced on Thursday by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley to five years in prison and ordered to pay $1,968,650 in restitution for a multimillion dollar tax fraud and money laundering conspiracy, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

“The defendants attempted to steal more than $4.5 million from the IRS,” said Michael Daniels, Acting Special Agent in Charge IRS Criminal Investigation. “When their scheme finally worked, they moved their money through various accounts, including overseas. Once again this shows the severe nature of fraudulent tax refund schemes perpetrated against the IRS. Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that those involved in these types of schemes will be held accountable for their crimes.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Ronda Boone and her husband and co-defendant Marty Marciano Boone, 59, filed separate false tax returns claiming that they were owed millions of dollars in refunds from the IRS. While the IRS flagged Ronda Boone’s tax return as fraudulent and denied her claim, Marty Boone’s false return resulted in the IRS paying him over $1.9 million in a refund check. Evidence at trial established that Marty Boone and Ronda Boone then laundered those funds through domestic and foreign accounts, including by establishing a shell corporation in Cyprus and a church in the state of Washington through which they moved the fraudulently obtained money.

On Jan. 31, 2019, a jury found Marty Boone guilty of filing a false tax return, conspiring to commit money laundering and money laundering, and found Ronda Boone guilty of conspiring to commit money laundering and money laundering. On Nov. 14, 2019, Marty Boone was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison.

This case was the product of an investigation by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina McCall handled the sentencing hearing in the case.
Source: DOJ