U.S. Department of Justice Marcos Daniel Jiménez United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida
	99 N.E. 4th Street Miami, FL 33132 (305) 961-9001

FORMER MIAMI-DADE EMPLOYEE SENTENCED ON TAX CHARGES

Marcos Daniel Jiménez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; and Brian J. Wimpling, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, announced today that on February 28, 2005, United States District Court Judge Adalberto Jordan sentenced defendant, Istvan Steven Fazekas, a former employee of the Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue Department, to seventeen (17) months’ imprisonment, followed by two (2) years of supervised release, and ordered Fazekas to pay restitution in the amount of $50,991.20. In December 2004, Fazekas pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States by obstructing the lawful government functions of the Internal Revenue Service by substantially understating his income. Fazekas also pleaded guilty to filing false income tax returns by understating his income for the years 1999 and 2000.

According to the Indictment, Fazekas was employed as an engineer for the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department and was responsible for reviewing, evaluating, and approving fire sprinkler plans for compliance with building and safety codes. Contemporaneous with his employment with Miami-Dade, he was also the sole signatory on bank accounts for two fire sprinkler design companies from which he received substantial income. Fazekas would then file personal income tax returns that did not include income generated by and received from the fire sprinkler design companies.

Mr. Jiménez commended the investigative efforts of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Marvelle McIntyre-Hall.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

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