Local Man Who Dodged Taxes Sentenced to Prison

A local commercial real estate broker was sentenced Friday to two years behind bars for obstructing the Internal Revenue Service from collecting taxes he owed, resulting in the agency recovering just $770 despite him earning nearly $1 million at the time.

Gabriel Guerrero, of Pasadena, was also ordered to pay restitution of $509,492, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

He pleaded guilty in June 2025 in downtown Los Angeles to one federal count of corruptly obstructing or impeding, or endeavoring to obstruct or impede, the due administration of the Internal Revenue Code.

The DOJ said Guerrero is a commercial real estate broker who, for years, did not file timely federal tax returns and later owed taxes for the years 2012 and 2013.

After the IRS assessed taxes against Guerrero and attempted to collect them him via the sending of dozens of notices, Guerrero took steps to conceal his income and assets, court papers show. For example, he made extensive use of cash and cashier’s checks, submitted a false form to the IRS that significantly understated his income and used a nominee bank account to deposit income, he admitted in Los Angeles federal court.

Despite the IRS’ issuance of dozens of levies to bank accounts and brokers with whom Guerrero worked throughout the collection action, the IRS obtained only $770 towards Guerrero’s tax liabilities despite Guerrero earning nearly $1 million in income from his work as a commercial real estate broker over the same time frame, prosecutors said.