COLORADO, USA — Five family members from northern Colorado face charges related to unemployment insurance fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic and tax fraud.
A statewide grand jury decision last month indicted Robert Tarin Jr., Robert Tarin-Deleon, Ana Tarin, Adrian Tarin and Luz Tarin, according to the Attorney General's Office (AG).
According to the AG, from July 2020 through May 2021, Tarin, Jr. of Berthoud is accused of fraudulently obtaining $31,577 in unemployment benefits by providing false information to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
According to the grand jury indictment, Tarin, Jr. falsely reported on his application for unemployment insurance that he temporarily shut down his towing business due to the pandemic and that he was furloughed from work.
According to the indictment, Tarin, Jr. failed to disclose on his application that he also owned a fencing business. Deposits into Tarin, Jr.'s bank accounts reflect that the towing and fencing businesses did not temporarily close or suffer a slowdown in 2020, nor did he furlough himself. Tarin, Jr. also allegedly failed to disclose his unemployment benefits or other business income on his 2020 or 2021 state income tax returns.
Tarin, Jr. regularly used addresses associated with his parents, Ramon Roberto Tarin-Deleon and Ana Maria Tarin, and a portion of his unemployment benefits were made via an electronic deposit into his mother’s bank account, according to the court filing. State investigators uncovered evidence showing that his parents falsely reported business income for their Loveland restaurant, Taqueria Rancho Alegre #3, for the tax year 2020.
Evidence also demonstrates that Tarin, Jr.’s aunt and uncle, Luz and Adrian Tarin, misrepresented gross sales on monthly sales tax returns for a restaurant they own in Greeley, Taqueria Rancho Alegre, and they failed to pay sales tax on undisclosed business income for tax years 2018 through 2020. These alleged misrepresentations by Luz and Adrian Tarin resulted in $48,692 in unpaid taxes, including penalties and interest, according to the AG.
“Unemployment insurance fraud remains a priority of our office," Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a release. "Those who have defrauded our system must be held accountable and our unemployment insurance task force is working to pursue cases and identify fraudsters. If anyone has information about such activity, we want to know about it so we can continue to take action in such cases.”
Lt. Mark Hertz from the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force said “This began as a Northern Colorado Drug Task Force case but quickly expanded to include the Department of Revenue and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, who brought additional areas of expertise to the investigation. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of many local and state partners, this criminal enterprise can be held accountable for the harm they’ve caused in our region.”
Tarin, Jr. is charged with the following:
- one count each of theft (F4)
- one count each of cybercrime-theft (F4)
- two counts each of attempt to influence a public official (F4)
- two counts each of forgery (F5)
- two counts filing a false tax return (F5).
Ramon and Ana Tarin are charged with the following:
- one count of filing a false tax return (F5)
Luz Tarin faces the following charges:
- three counts of filing a false tax return (F5)
Adrian Tarin faces the following charges:
- one count of filing a false tax return (F5)
All defendants were taken into custody and released on cash surety bonds.
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