What do you want to know?

QDid I miss something, or were the recent reports about a Brawley bookkeeper pleading guilty to tax evasion the first time his name appeared in the media in connection to the crime? I’ve done some online searches and have yet to find any information about his initial arrest or which local farm he may have worked for. Is there anything else you can find out? – Curious, Brawley

AThe recent press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office announcing that Brawley resident Claude Theodore Riley had pleaded guilty in connection to a $272,000 tax scheme was also the first time Riley’s name appeared on our radar, too.

It appears as though the 56-year-old was a longtime employee of Lance Reeves Farms in Brawley, according to documents available for public review from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

The federal court documents state that Riley had agreed to a plea deal and is expected back in court on Dec. 4 for sentencing. The exact terms of his plea deal were not available for public review, but court records do state that he had agreed to a plea deal on Sept. 11, the day that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego had issued its press release.

It also appears as though Riley had waived prosecution by grand jury indictment on Sept. 11, and instead chose to be prosecuted by information in connection to separate counts of wire fraud and making a false tax return, both felonies.

The initial press release stated that between January 2010 and April 2015, Riley had made 148 transactions out of his employer’s bank account, created nonexistent vendors to be paid into the bookkeeping records and generated checks made payable to himself.

Court records also stated that Riley had submitted an income tax return in 2016 reporting that his taxable income for 2015 was about $61,000 and his taxes about $8,000, when in reality his income was more than $197,000. The latter figure should have resulted in Riley owing the Internal Revenue Service about $33,000, court records stated.

As part of his plea deal, Riley will have his sentence imposed by a federal judge. Riley also is subject to the forfeiture of any of his illicit proceeds as well as restitution, court records stated.