He lied about his income on a form used to determine the amount of his restitution payments in another case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

TAMPA – A Tampa man has pleaded guilty to falsifying information on a federal financial disclosure form, a felony, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said.

Jason Anthony Martinez, 38, of Tampa,  has pleaded guilty to making false statements to the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Financial Litigation Unit. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office Financial Litigation Unit collects criminal monetary penalties, including restitution, imposed on criminal defendants by the U.S. District Court as part of his or her sentence. One of the tools used by the unit to collect restitution is the financial disclosure statement, which requires defendants to truthfully disclose, among other things, their income, expenses, assets, and liabilities.

According to the plea agreement, Martinez was previously convicted in a mortgage-related fraud case and ordered to pay about $3,009 million in restitution. On Oct 24, Martinez signed and submitted a financial disclosure form, upon which he falsely claimed a net income that was about half his actual net income and failed to disclose a number of credit accounts. This false information materially and adversely affected the resulting restitution-related payment calculations in his prior case, the U.S. attorney said.

“Pursuant to the Crime Victims’ Rights Act of 2004, federal crime victims have the right to full and timely restitution. Our Financial Litigation Unit is dedicated to investigating defendants’ ability to meet their restitution obligation and collecting such restitution in compliance with federal law. Criminal defendants must understand that the U.S. Attorney’s Office actively pursues the collection of restitution,” U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez said.

U.S. Attorney | Crime | Courts | Tampabay News

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