John Anthony Castro, of Texas, signs a commemorative poster after filing to get on the Republican ballot for the 2024 New Hampshire primary in Concord, N.H., on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Holly Ramer). Inset: John Anthony Castro (via YouTube/Larry Sharpe).
A long shot presidential candidate from Texas who filed dozens of legal challenges to keep Donald Trump off the 2024 ballot has been accused of lying to the federal government.
John Anthony Castro, 40, was indicted on 33 counts of filing fraudulent tax returns, the Justice Department announced in a press release. He allegedly aided and assisted in the “preparation and presentation of a false and fraudulent return,” the statement said.
“Starting in 2016, Mr. Castro devised a scheme to falsely create and submit false tax returns on behalf of unsuspecting taxpayers,” the DOJ says. Through his virtual tax preparation business, Castro & Company LLC, Castro ran offices out of Orlando, Florida, Mansfield, Texas, and Washington, D.C.
Throughout his yearslong scheme, Castro allegedly promised a “significantly higher” tax refund than what taxpayers would receive from other tax preparers, according to federal prosecutors. On many occasions, he allegedly offered to “split” the additional refund with taxpayers.
But to do so, the federal government says, Castro “generated false deductions without the taxpayer’s knowledge.”
Castro was caught after an undercover federal agent posing as a taxpayer called him in 2018 for assistance. Castro agreed, but allegedly demanded a $5,000 retainer to meet in person — so they proceeded virtually.
“During a recorded telephone conversation, Mr. Castro stated that he could project the amount of the tax refund the undercover agent would likely receive from another firm and then compare that figure with the refund that Mr. Castro would obtain,” the DOJ says.
One of Castro’s employees interviewed the undercover agent over the phone regarding deductions, with the employee saying that Castro would ultimately make the decisions of what would be included in the tax filing. During this conversation, the employee “did not identify any deductions that would apply to the agent and in the course of the interview, the undercover agent denied any facts that would support deductions.”
Nevertheless, on March 14, 2018, Castro filed the undercover agent’s tax return, claiming nearly $30,000 in fraudulent deductions, according to the government.
“The IRS issued a refund of $6,007, Mr. Castro received $2,999 for his services and the agent received the remaining amount of $3,008,” prosecutors say — significantly more than the $300 deduction Castro told the undercover agent he would receive from another tax preparer.
Feds say that Castro carried out a similar scheme with “dozens of other taxpayers, resulting in hundreds of thousands of improperly paid claims.”
Castro has tried to position himself as a conservative alternative to the former president. His campaign website — which appears to have been deactivated — touted him as a hardscrabble visionary with a blue-collar background.
“John Anthony was born into a working class family who did not have the means to pay for his college or law school,” the website says. “Against all odds, John Anthony eventually graduated from Georgetown Law, founded his own law firm, started an Ai tech company, and is now ready to offer his leadership to his country as President of the United States.”
The indictment notes that Castro “is a law school graduate but is not licensed to practice law in the United States.”
“Castro claimed to be a ‘federal practitioner’ and registered as an ‘enrolled agent’ with the Internal Revenue Service (‘IRS’),” the indictment added.
Each count carries a potential maximum of three years in prison.
According to a New York Times report, Castro has filed challenges in at least 27 states to keep Trump off the ballot. While none of his challenges have succeeded, other efforts have gained traction: as Law&Crime previously reported, the Colorado Supreme Court recently determined that Trump is ineligible, and the Supreme Court agreed last week to take up the case.
The former president is challenging a similar ruling in Maine.
At the core of cases challenging Trump’s position on the 2024 ballot is the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, specifically Section III, which bars candidates who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion from holding office.
Trump has been accused of fomenting the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when he urged his supporters to “fight like hell” as Congress was certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral win. An angry, violent mob of thousands ultimately breached the building, delaying the certification and forcing lawmakers and staff to either flee the building or shelter in place for hours.
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