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November 15, 2022

Albuquerque Man Sentenced to More Than Five Years in Prison for Bank Fraud and for Filing a Fraudulent Internal Revenue Service Document

On August 24, 2022, in the District of New Mexico, Rick Benavidez was sentenced for his role in bank fraud and submitting a false document to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) schemes involving fraudulent auto loans.

According to the court documents, from around April 2013 to May 2013, Benavidez conspired with others to submit fraudulent documentation to financial institutions in order to receive automobile loans exceeding $1.5 million.  After being charged with conspiracy and bank fraud in relation to the schemes, Benavidez submitted a fraudulent Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship, to the IRS.  On the IRS Form 56, Benavidez falsely indicated that the Honorable William P. Johnson, United States District of New Mexico Judge, was his fiduciary. 

Benavidez was sentenced to 63 months’ imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: D.N.M. Indict., filed February 27, 2019; D.N.M. Information, filed April 29, 2022; D.N.M. Plea Agr., filed April 29, 2022; D.N.M. Judgment, filed September 15, 2022.