Long-shot Republican presidential candidate John Anthony Castro, 40, has been indicted on 33 felony counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of a false and fraudulent tax return, as reported by several sources. These charges can reportedly land the former presidential hopeful in prison for up to three years. Mr. Castro was arrested Tuesday following these charges. Castro, a Texian native, is known for his criticism of Trump, and has even attempted to help throw Trump off the primary ballot to no avail. He claimed that Trumps initiation of the infamous Jan.6 Capitol attack violated the 14th amendment; he has filed numerous challenges to Trumps ballot in reportedly 27 states.
Prosecutors reportedly claim that Mr. Castro ran an online tax preparation business, “Castro & Company LLC”, supplying customers with tax returns surpassing what they were actually indebted to. Prosecutors stated that: “Castro would promise a significantly higher refund than taxpayers could receive from other preparers and on many occasions, offered to split the additional refund with taxpayers,” according to The Hill. Castro was caught by an undercover federal agent disguised as a customer for his tax services.
In response to these charges Castro has stated; “I don’t care if they offered me one day probation and a slap on the wrist in exchange for a guilty plea, This is going to trial. I am going to convince all 12 jurors that I am 100 percent innocent and that this is political retaliation,” as per The Hill.
