Tax preparers facing fraud and money laundering charges in alleged years-long scheme in Chelsea

Five people are facing fraud and money laundering charges after prosecutors say they ran a years-long scheme in Chelsea using stolen identities and false tax returns to collect more than $220,000 in refunds. 

The charges stem from a multi-agency investigation of a tax scheme that occurred between April 2017 and July 2021, according to a statement from the Suffolk District Attorney’s office. 

Prosecutors allege that Danny Oviedo, 37, of Lynn, while working as a tax preparer for Lean’s Tax Service in Chelsea, filed tax returns for clients with false deductions. 

Authorities said Oviedo also stole client identities and prepared 145 fraudulent personal income tax returns. He allegedly had the refund checks made payable to aliases and addresses linked to himself and his family. 

According to a statement of facts filed with the court, Oviedo fraudulently endorsed checks totaling $222,827.48 and deposited them into his personal accounts, keeping the money from his clients. 

Oviedo failed to file personal income tax returns for himself in 2019 and 2020, according to court documents. 

His wife, 34-year-old Estefany Oviedo, also of Lynn, is accused of opening bank accounts where a majority of the 142 fraudulent refund checks, totaling over $217,000, were deposited. 

Prosecutors allege that Estefany Oviedo and associate Antonio Pires, a 59-year-old resident of Wilmington, used the fraudulent tax refund checks to purchase a home at 7 Harrington Ave. in Revere. Pires is married to an employee of Lean’s Tax Service and also owns property in Lynn with Oviedo. 

Oviedo and Pires made false statements on the loan application for a mortgage misrepresenting income, assets, and occupancy, authorities said. 

Specifically, Pires said he would occupy the residence and receive $3,000 per month in rental income from Carlos Oviedo, who is another employee of Lean’s Tax Service and the brother of Danny Oviedo. However, Pires never declared this rental income on his personal tax return, despite Carlos Oviedo listing 7 Harrington Ave. on his own tax filings, according to the statement of facts. 

Mirian Pineda, 58, of Revere, who is Danny Oviedo’s mother and president of Lean’s Tax Service, used deposits made to her company to qualify for a mortgage, according to court documents. 

According to the statement of facts, Pineda failed to report these deposits — totaling more than $391,000 — on her 2020 or 2021 Massachusetts Corporate Excise Returns, despite claiming to be the company’s sole owner. Pinedo also did not report company funds in her personal income tax filings for 2020 and 2021. 

According to court records, Danny Oviedo faces the following charges: 

Estefany Oviedo, Pires, and Pineda are each charged with money laundering and larceny by a false pretense in a commercial transaction, the Suffolk District Attorney’s office said. 

Pineda additionally faces charges of false tax return and nine counts of failure to file a tax return, and Estefany Oviedo faces two counts of receiving stolen property over $1,200. 

Danny Oviedo, Estefany Oviedo, Pires, and Pineda were released on personal recognizance and are each due back in court June 22 for pretrial hearings. Carlos Oviedo will be arraigned at a later date, authorities said. 

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