The Challenge
Our client faced federal tax fraud charges in the Central District of California for filing fraudulent income tax returns over a two-year period, involving approximately $100,000 in false refund claims submitted to the IRS under 18 U.S.C. § 287. A tax loss of that size typically produces a federal sentencing guidelines range that calls for prison, and the prosecutor recommended a lengthy prison sentence.
Our Strategy
Drawing on our federal court experience, we conducted an exhaustive review of the government’s financial evidence and identified mitigating factors in our client’s background. We negotiated a favorable plea agreement and presented compelling sentencing memoranda highlighting our client’s cooperation, lack of prior criminal history, restitution to the IRS, and personal circumstances that warranted leniency. The court agreed and imposed probation with no custody.
The Result
PROBATION — NO JAIL TIME
Your Case Belongs at the Southwest Justice Center.
Your Defense Belongs Here.
If you were arrested in Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Wildomar, Lake Elsinore, Winchester, or French Valley, your future will likely be decided at the Southwest Justice Center (SWJC) on Auld Road. In these courtrooms, local knowledge is the ultimate advantage. Since 1999, Nic Cocis has been a weekly fixture in the SWJC, appearing before the same judges and negotiating with the same Riverside County prosecutors for over 25 years. We don’t just know the law — we know the specific nuances, procedural quirks, and judicial tendencies of the Southwest District. Whether you are facing a felony or a misdemeanor, you need a firm that treats the Southwest Justice Center as its home turf.
