Man Receives 2 Years in Prison for Tax Evasion

A 34-year-old Glendale man who claimed he was a sovereign citizen not subject to federal tax laws was sentenced Friday to two years in prison for not filing tax returns.

The charges against Francis A. Marafino trace back to 1991, according to Nora M. Manella, the U.S. attorney for California’s Central District.

Beginning that year and through 1993, Marafino failed to report more than $195,000 in income he received from the Software Works, a Glendale-based computer company where at one point he worked in management, according to investigators.

Marafino was charged with three counts each of tax evasion and failing to file tax returns, according to Manella.

During the trial last May, a company employee testified that Marafino ordered her to modify a computer program that controlled the amount of taxes withheld from his paycheck.

An agent of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division testified that Marafino primarily used cash as a means of concealing his financial resources. Marafino also closed his bank accounts and did not renew his driver’s license.

Marafino testified that he was a sovereign citizen of the Republic of California and did not have to pay federal taxes, according to Stern.

However, Stern said Marafino also had failed to pay some state taxes.

A U.S. District Court jury found him guilty of all charges. Marafino was also sentenced to two years’ supervised release after he finishes his prison term and ordered to pay a $24,000 fine, Stern said.