John Anthony Castro, a Texas man who gained notoriety for his legal efforts to question the eligibility of former President Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential ballot, has been arrested on charges related to filing false tax documents.
Castro, who filed challenges in 27 states against Trump’s placement on the ballot, was indicted last week on 33 counts of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns.
Operating a virtual tax preparation business called Castro & Company LLC with locations in Orlando, Mansfield, and Washington D.C., Castro deceived clients by inflating their tax refunds, as reported by The Hill.
According to court records, Castro would promise clients much larger refunds than other preparers and suggest splitting the extra refund with them.
To achieve these inflated refunds, he allegedly created fake deductions without informing taxpayers.
Evidence of Castro’s fraudulent activities came to light when an undercover officer was promised a $6,007 refund by Castro after being quoted only $373 by a reputable preparer.
The tax forms prepared by Castro included nearly $30,000 in fraudulently claimed deductions. Outside of his tax business, Castro is a long-shot GOP presidential candidate.
He was born at a U.S. military base in Landstuhl, Germany and currently resides in Texas. While he holds a J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law and an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center according to Ballotpedia, it is worth noting that he has never been licensed to practice law in any state according to The New York Times.
It is apparent that John Anthony Castro harbors strong animosity towards Trump supporters as well as Trump himself.
His persistent attempts to challenge Trump’s candidacy have been based on allegations regarding Trump’s role in the January 6 Capitol riots and arguments invoking the Fourteenth Amendment.
These efforts have yielded mixed results so far – some challenges have been dismissed while others are still pending or under consideration by certain states like Maine.
The other states where Castro has filed these lawsuits include:
- California
- Michigan
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- Oregon
- Oklahoma
- Alaska
- South Carolina
- Texas
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Vermon
- Virginia
However, Trump’s presence on the ballots of Colorado and Maine has been invalidated due to similar challenges. These decisions are currently pending review by the Supreme Court. In response to the indictment, Castro denies any wrongdoing and argues that the case is a politically motivated assault against him. He asserts that his firm had already settled a tax dispute with the IRS in 2021, amounting to $700,000.
“I don’t care if they offered me one day probation and a slap on the wrist in exchange for a guilty plea,” Castro told The Hill. “This is going to trial. I am going to convince all 12 jurors that I am 100 percent innocent and that this is political retaliation.”
The ongoing dispute has hindered Castro’s travel plans for upcoming court hearings regarding his challenges to the 14th Amendment in various states.
His release conditions limit him to the Northern District of Texas unless given permission to travel elsewhere. If found guilty, Castro may be sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison for each of the 33 felony charges.
Despite facing difficulties in gaining support for his presidential campaign, which had only raised $678 by September, Castro’s legal actions against Trump have kept him in the public spotlight, something he takes great pride in.
“Meet the Man Challenging Trump”
100 days ago, no one knew who I was. With less than $50,000, I got worldwide media coverage, made Section 3 of the 14th Amendment mainstream, and now have name recognition in every corner of the country. That’s strategy.https://t.co/vQ7jav3gqu
— ???????? John Anthony Castro (@realJohnACastro) January 6, 2024
“Donald Trump's Biggest Ballot Case Hasn't Happened Yet.”
Excellent @Newsweek article explaining how my pending appeal before the 9th Circuit would guarantee Trump’s loss in the general election.
Thank you @AndrewStanton!https://t.co/j57Ldr4Sgg
— ???????? John Anthony Castro (@realJohnACastro) January 3, 2024
Full feature in the New York Times! ????️
Success is not a destination; it’s a state of mind. It’s the courage to persevere despite repeated setbacks. It’s the refusal to surrender against all odds. Fortune favors the bold.
Thank you @NYTimes! https://t.co/PiGwu9Hnbv
— ???????? John Anthony Castro (@realJohnACastro) January 5, 2024
John Castro is a prime illustration of a covert Republican sleeper. There exist numerous individuals similar to him, who identify as Republicans but align their vote with Democrats. However, he distinguishes himself by being more candid about his genuine sentiments.
I think @ShennaBellows would be an excellent person to replace Senator Susan Collins in 2026.
Senator Shenna Bellows 2026! ???????? pic.twitter.com/SW5U5yqqxZ
— ???????? John Anthony Castro (@realJohnACastro) December 30, 2023
BREAKING: The man who has been filing lawsuits in every state to get Donald Trump removed from the 2024 election ballot has been arrested & charged with filing 17 sets of false tax documents to the IRS
In total, John Anthony Castro has been charged with 33 counts of aiding the… pic.twitter.com/b9GX6rIDPb
— George (@BehizyTweets) January 10, 2024
Shut this fool down now
Hope his suits Fail
Biden lies ALL the time
Ya expect anything else from a democrap!
Good grief, another nut job on the loose in our country. parading around like he aligns with the GOP. Put him in prison where he belongs for swindling others for a living. He is a menace!!
Castro: Hey look at me I’m a crook and proud of it! Vote for me!! ROFLMAO.
Yup, those Communist Bastards just keep pouring out of the woodwork.
Put that a$$hole away preferably under ground where all Communist Democrats belong.
now just arrest the rest of the lying democrats that are destroying America for china……………………………………………
AND, all the ‘true’ criminals that attempted a ‘soft’ coup on a sitting U.S. president. It still boggles the mind that these sedition minded whacks are roaming around FREE as birds sipping their margaritas on the taxpayer’s dime!
Only those Trump supporters/trespassers have been jailed, some without due process. Their Constitutional Rights be damned!
GOD WORK.
There are several closet Democrats, who identify as Republicans. Look at Mitt Romney, Chris Christy and I could name a few more…
Now we see the 2 Prosecutors that were champing at the bit to try D.J. Trump for an innocent phone call to the GA Governor finding themselves on the wrong side of the Law. A broken marriage and money used for A TRAVEL TRYST. i AM SURELY HAPPY TO SEE THESE MARXISTS ON THE RECEIVING END OF A CRIME. IS FANY A SOROS GIRL?
Have you read about the two Naval Officers– Chinese by birth became Naturalized Citizens, educated in the USA and SPIED FOR CHINA and gave them everything they could photograph, write about our ships and weapons to the CCP. You know the COMMUNIST China that also employs our President and his SON. These NAVAL OFFICERS need to serve their sentences, be stripped of their citizenship and deported. We used to execute Military Treason but now, just a slap on the wrist or Joe’s Buddy CHI has told him to go easy on his boys. Makes me wonder about the 25 thousand military age Chinese male of military age who have crossed our S. Borderand disappeared into the
just how stupid must you be to think by stopping trump from being on the Ballots is a good idea and will help steal the elections … again … all your doing is giving him a real reason to say the democrats fixed the elections … again … and he will be right. and more then likely the elections will be over turned this time. and you democrats will be seen for the real corrupt party you are. so go ahead, and be this stupid. all your doing is helping trump win. you are now your own worse enemie. dumb azz !!! you never learn do you.
guess who’s painting the kettle black!
WUT?! You can’t mean that they have ‘arrested’ an actual ‘criminal,’ without having to ‘manufacture’ some fake evidence? Who’da believed it?