First Ever Tax Fraud Conviction in Costa Rica

A sentence of ten years in prison and a fine of ¢180 million colones was handed down to Maira Marlene Zamora Alvarado, in the first ever trial of tax fraud in Costa Rica.

Zamora is the sister of Movimiento Libertario party legislator, Mireya Zamora, and the first in the history of the Costa Rica to receive a prison sentence for tax fraud.

The sentence was handed down by the II Circuito Judicial de San José (Second Judicial Circuit of San José).

The case involved the now defunct company Estrella Brilliante S.A., which was found with irregularities in its invoicing to justify expenditures and costs of goods sold to other companies, resulting in the defrauding of the treasury by ¢180 million colones.

The other reason for that resulted in the conviction was the providing of false information to the Ministry of Finance, namely that the number on the tax reports did not coincide with that on the printed invoices.

Zamora has 15 days to appeal the sentence, meanwhile she cannot leave the country and must sign in at the courthouse every two weeks.

Legislator Mireya Zamora expressed regret at the sentence of her sister and blamed her sister's husband, Roberto Carvajal, for the naming Zamora as the authorized legal representative of the company.