(GoRealNewsNow.com) – In a true testimony to the type of people trying to prevent Donald Trump from running in the 2024 election on a technicality, a man who filed over two dozen legal challenges to the former president’s eligibility has been arrested on federal tax charges.
On Tuesday, John Anthony Castro, a Texas resident, was arrested for allegedly submitting 17 sets of fraudulent tax documents to the IRS.
He was indicted last week on 33 counts of aiding in preparing false tax returns.
According to prosecutors, Castro operated a virtual tax preparation business that purportedly generated inflated client refunds, resulting in government fraud.
“Castro would promise a significantly higher refund than taxpayers could receive from other preparers and on many occasions, offered to split the additional refund with taxpayers. In order to achieve these larger refunds, Castro generated false deductions, that were not based in fact, and which were submitted without the taxpayer’s knowledge,” prosecutors wrote.
An undercover police officer posing as a customer of Castro’s tax services exposed the operation.
While a legitimate tax preparer estimated a $373 tax return for the undercover agent, Castro claimed he could secure a $6,007 refund and proposed to share the extra proceeds.
The tax forms Castro filed on behalf of the undercover officer allegedly included nearly $30,000 in illegitimate deductions.
Additionally, Castro is a 2024 GOP presidential candidate, albeit a long shot with minimal publicity beyond his legal actions challenging former President Trump’s ballot eligibility.
He has filed objections to Trump’s ballot presence in 27 states, arguing that Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021, events at the US Capitol contradicts the 14th Amendment.
His indictment coincided with the dismissal of his ballot challenge in New Hampshire, with similar efforts previously rejected in Florida and Nevada.
While multiple 14th Amendment suits are ongoing, none have significantly advanced.
However, similar challenges using these arguments have temporarily removed Trump from ballots in Colorado and Maine, pending Supreme Court intervention.
The Supreme Court recently announced it would consider the Colorado case.
Castro expressed his perspective to The Hill, stating, “No question about it,” he believes the charges are politically motivated.
He mentioned that his firm had already settled the tax return issue with the IRS in 2021, attributing the problem to clients’ misinterpretations of tax laws and noting that his firm repaid about $700,000 to rectify the discrepancies.