Cary businessman pleads guilty to evading more than $1 million in taxes

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Arturo Barcenas Gonzalez (Barcenas) pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and faces a maximum of 60 months’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

Barcenas will also be required to pay an unspecified amount to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

According to court documents, Barcenas owns and operates various businesses at 1223 Walnut St. in Cary, including Barcenas Insurance Agency, LLC (BIA), which sells insurance policies, and Barcenas Financial Services, LLC (BFS), a tax return preparation business.

A press release from the DOJ reads: "The investigation revealed that BIA operated a high-volume, cash-intensive business that, among other things, registered and titled vehicles on behalf of undocumented aliens through the use of assumed business name certificates filed with the register of deeds."

Barcenas is accused of filing a false 2017 federal income tax return in 2018 that concealed over $300,000 in business receipts. Later on, investigators allege he stopped filing federal tax returns altogether.

While not filing taxes, investigators said Barcenas continued to generate "substantial business income," and investigators identified business receipts in excess of $1 million per year between 2018 and 2022. 

To avoid IRS assessment and collection, Barcenas is accused of titling assets in the names of others, depositing business funds into personal accounts and using cash.

The IRS searched the Cary office in 2023. According to the DOJ, the estimated tax losses related to the crimes are over $1 million for calendars years 2018 through 2022.

“The vast majority of American taxpayers pay their fair share in taxes, supporting our nation’s infrastructure, innovation, and military. Meanwhile, Barcenas failed to file any federal tax return for years while he padded his personal accounts with money from his businesses,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Businessmen making millions can’t use tax scams to dodge paying their share and leave law-abiding citizens to shoulder the burden. Hardworking Americans won’t stand for that, and neither will the IRS.”