SCRANTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle), published as received.

SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Lucas Hernandez-Torres, age 47, of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, was charged in a criminal information with defrauding the United States, and with the unlawful procurement of naturalization.  The charges were filed on February 1, 2017, but remained under seal until September 27, 2018.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Hernandez-Torres admitted to defrauding the IRS by allowing other conspirators to claim his dependents as their own, thereby incurring federal tax credits and refunds.  Hernandez-Torres received kickbacks in return, and also made false claims in his personal tax returns for wages that he had not earned, thus accruing additional tax credits.  The offenses occurred for tax years 2010 through 2014. Hernandez-Torres, a Mexican National, also made false statements on a naturalization application.

Hernandez-Torres pleaded guilty to the charges on April 25, 2017, before United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani, and is awaiting sentencing.

The matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo is prosecuting the case.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The maximum penalty under federal law for the most serious charge is up to 10 years of imprisonment.  Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

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