California Department of Tax and Fee Administration Investigation Leads to Prison Sentence For Santa Clara County Auto Dealer in Tax Evasion Case

Sacramento – The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) announced today that Mohammad Hassan Mostafavi was sentenced in Santa Clara County Superior Court to 36 months in state prison for three felony counts of tax evasion.

Mostafavi, 31, of San Jose, was convicted in a jury trial of the offenses on October 24, 2017, with Superior Court Judge Drew Takaichi presiding. Judge Takaichi handed down the sentence in a hearing on January 22, 2018. Mostafavi will be required by the court to pay restitution of the unpaid taxes.

Mostafavi, the owner and president of Euro Auto Imports, Inc., in San Jose, failed to report at least $5.0 million in taxable sales, resulting in approximately $391,000 in unreported sales tax from 2009 through 2012. The CDTFA's investigation began in 2011 when it was discovered that Mostafavi failed to report a large amount of sales to the CDTFA from his retail car business.

The case was prosecuted by Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Erica Engin.

Note: This news release may discuss complex tax laws and concepts. It may not address every situation, and is not considered written advice that may be relied on, pursuant to California Code of Regulations, title 18, sections 1705 and 4902. Changes in tax law or regulations may have occurred since the time this news release was written. If there is a conflict between the text of this news release and the law, decisions will be based upon the law and not this news release. For specific help, please contact the CDTFA at 1-800-400-7115.