Turlock Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud in Ponzi Scheme That Left Nearly 90 Investors Owed $7 Million

Published Oct. 27, 2026. Case statuses are current as of that date.

Many people trust their tax preparer with their most private financial information. In Stanislaus County, California, some clients also gave their tax preparer their savings to invest, on the promise of steady double-digit returns written into signed notes. Federal prosecutors say the money was mostly lost, and that he kept taking new investors' cash long after he knew it.

Antonio Honorato Silveira, 50, of Turlock, pleaded guilty on Oct. 26, 2026, to wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California announced [1].

Important: Silveira has pleaded guilty but has not been sentenced. Facts about the scheme come from the U.S. Attorney's Office summary of court documents. Anyone not convicted of a crime is presumed innocent.

How the scheme worked, step by step

According to court documents, as summarized by the U.S. Attorney's Office [1]:

1. A trusted adviser. Silveira worked as a tax preparer and accountant.
2. The offer. By no later than June 2011, he began accepting money from clients to invest for them, promising annual returns of 13% to 17%.
3. Paper guarantees. He put those promises in signed promissory notes and guarantees, and investors gave him discretion to invest in the stock market as he saw fit.
4. The losses. Silveira was an unsuccessful stock trader who consistently lost money, and he diverted investor funds to pay his own expenses.
5. Paying old investors with new money. To hide the losses, he used about $3.84 million of investor funds to make payments that were falsely portrayed as investment returns.

By 2017, according to the release, he wrote to three investors: "I no longer have any money, it was all lost. Doesn't appear to be any new investors in sight either." He added, "This whole experience has been terrible and I apologize." Despite that, prosecutors say, he kept soliciting new investors [1].

From 2019 to 2025, about 89 investors gave Silveira roughly $11.03 million, even though he knew he could not pay the promised returns. In that stretch he had only two profitable years and five losing years, and each losing year wiped out more than any single good year earned, according to prosecutors [1].

When the scheme collapsed in 2025, he owed investors about $7.19 million. More than 25 investors suffered substantial financial hardship, including lost retirement savings or college funds, delayed retirements and the sale of a home, prosecutors said [1]. CBS Sacramento also reported the plea [2].

The person convicted and his status

Antonio Honorato Silveira, 50, of Turlock, California. Pleaded guilty Oct. 26, 2026, to wire fraud in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on Feb. 8, 2027, and faces up to 20 years in prison. The actual sentence will be set by the court after considering the federal Sentencing Guidelines and other factors [1].

IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas M. Fogg is prosecuting it [1]. The release does not name any business entity used by Silveira or say whether restitution has been set (status pending).

Why trust in an adviser is not enough

Ponzi schemes often grow inside existing relationships. A tax preparer already knows a client's income, savings and goals, and clients may be less inclined to question someone they see every year. That trust does not replace due diligence. A tax preparer who also takes money to invest may need to be registered as an investment adviser or broker, and you can check.

Red flags

These are general warning signs of this kind of scheme; not every one is alleged in this case.

• Guaranteed returns. A fixed 13% to 17% per year on stock market trading is not something anyone can honestly promise.
• A promissory note instead of a brokerage account. If your money goes to a person rather than into an account in your own name at a registered firm, you can't see what is happening to it.
• Full "discretion" with no statements from an independent custodian.
• Returns that always arrive on time, even in bad market years.
• An adviser who wears many hats (tax preparer, accountant, investment manager) without separate registration.
• Requests to roll over your note rather than cash out.

What to do if you're targeted or already invested

1. Ask where the money is held. Insist on statements from a third-party custodian, not from the adviser.
2. Check registration for anyone offering to invest your money at FINRA BrokerCheck or the SEC's Investor.gov, and with your state securities regulator. In California, that is the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.
3. Keep every document, including notes, guarantees, checks and messages.
4. Report suspected investment fraud to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr, the FBI at IC3.gov, or the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
5. If you invested with Silveira, you may contact the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California about victim services.

Case status (as of Oct. 27, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status	Source
Antonio Honorato Silveira, 50, of Turlock, Calif.	U.S. District Court, E.D. Cal. (Judge Dale A. Drozd)	Pleaded guilty Oct. 26, 2026, to wire fraud; sentencing Feb. 8, 2027	[1]

Statuses can change. Restitution has not been announced (status pending).

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California, "Stanislaus County Man Pleads Guilty in Ponzi Scheme that Cost Victims Nearly 90 Victims More than $7 Million," Oct. 26, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/stanislaus-county-man-pleads-guilty-ponzi-scheme-cost-victims-nearly-90-victims-more-7
2. Carlos E. Castañeda, "Stanislaus County accountant pleads guilty in $7 million Ponzi scheme," CBS Sacramento, Oct. 26, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/stanislaus-county-ponzi-scheme-wire-fraud-guilty-plea/

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