East Valley man faces $1.6M federal tax fraud charge

A federal grand jury recently returned a 17-count indictment against a 52-year-old Tempe man who authorities allege defrauded the United States of more than $1.6 million.

The Arizona district of the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Nicholas Raymond Ponce’s indictment was part of a nationwide enforcement action led by the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, Internal Revenue Service and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. The effort targeted tax fraud and related offenses with Arizona being a “key participant in this surge effort.”

As part of the surge, a federal grand jury last month in Phoenix indicted Ponce,  who allegedly defrauded the U.S.  by filing fraudulent quarterly tax returns on behalf of his companies, Reduce My Card, LLC and OPM Management Group, LLC and falsely claiming that he was entitled to COVID-related tax credits based on wages paid to Form W-2 wage employees, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.