Arcadia professional tax preparer indicted for filing false tax forms

Date: May 12, 2026

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Fort Myers, FL - Janie Martinez Castillo has been charged by federal indictment with 20 counts of willfully failing to account for and pay employment taxes, filing a false personal tax return, and corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the internal revenue laws. If convicted, Martinez Castillo faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison on each count for willfully failing to account for and pay over employment taxes, and up to 3 years on each remaining count. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

According to the indictment, Martinez Castillo was responsible for collecting, truthfully accounting for, and paying over to the IRS employment taxes owed by her payroll and tax business, Castillo Payroll and Tax Service Inc. (CPTS). Despite the fact that CPTS owed employment taxes for numerous calendar quarters from 2019 to 2023, Martinez Castillo failed to account for and pay over those taxes. Martinez Castillo also filed personal tax returns falsifying the amount withheld from her income and fraudulently altered CPTS's books and records after receiving an IRS summons but before providing the records.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin S. Winter.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.