Camarillo realtor pleads guilty to income tax evasion
CAMARILLO, Calif. - Ventura County District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced on Friday that Debra Elaine Ashcraft of Camarillo pled guilty to failing to file her California tax returns.
Ashcraft is a real estate agent from Camarillo licensed by the California Department of Real Estate.
The District Attorney's Real Estate Fraud Unit and the California Franchise Tax Board performed an investigation which revealed that Ashcraft structured bank deposits of commissions she earned from real estate sales in a way that avoided triggering mandatory bank reporting requirements. This was done in an effort to conceal her income from tax authorities.
The District Attorney's Office said that Ashcraft also failed to file income tax returns for 2013 through 2017. Her income from this time period totaled about $1 million.
The Franchise Tax Board determined that Ashcraft evaded about $73,000 in personal income tax liability.
Ashcraft will be sentenced on March 5 at 9 a.m. in courtroom 12 of the Ventura County Superior Court. Her sentencing is expected to be 180 days in jail and felony probation for five years. Ashcraft will also be ordered to pay restitution to the Franchise Tax Board.
