Four residents of Oahu have been sentenced in federal court for their involvement in a tax refund fraud scheme, according to an announcement from United States Attorney Ken Sorenson. Senior United States District Judge J. Michael Seabright delivered the sentences following the defendants' convictions by a federal jury on August 27, 2025.
Rosemarie Lastimado-Dradi, formerly of Kapolei and age 52, received a sentence of 108 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States, aiding in the preparation or filing of false tax returns, and money laundering. Marciaminajuanequita Dumlao, 61, of Honolulu was sentenced to 33 months for conspiracy to defraud the United States, money laundering, and making a false statement under oath during bankruptcy proceedings. Elvah Miranda and Daniel Miranda, both aged 64 and from Waipahu, were sentenced to 48 months and 30 months respectively; Elvah Miranda was convicted on charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States and money laundering while Daniel Miranda was convicted of conspiracy and making false statements during bankruptcy. Each defendant will also serve three years of supervised release and must pay restitution.
Court documents show that between January 2015 and September 2018, the group conspired to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by filing fraudulent tax returns with fabricated withholdings from mortgage lenders. This resulted in over $1 million in refunds being issued by the IRS to Dumlao and the Mirandas. The defendants used trusts and business entities to open new bank accounts where they transferred proceeds from these activities as part of efforts to conceal funds from authorities.
The investigation revealed that Lastimado-Dradi promoted this scheme within Hawaii's district leading at least five others to participate. The total loss attributed to their actions is estimated at more than $2.1 million; Lastimado-Dradi personally received nearly $1 million as her share.
In addition to concealing assets through complex financial transactions, members attempted various methods to obstruct IRS recovery efforts such as sending frivolous correspondence, filing retaliatory liens against an IRS employee involved in recovering funds, and seeking bankruptcy protection while making false statements under oath.
During sentencing Judge Seabright described Lastimado-Dradi as “the mastermind of the scheme in Hawaii” stating that “her fingerprints are just everywhere in this scheme.”
Restitution orders include $1,724,503.94 for Lastimado-Dradi payable to the United States; $325,981.86 for Dumlao; and joint liability for Elvah and Daniel Miranda totaling $567,789.55.
“Today’s sentences send a strong warning to those who seek to evade our nation’s tax laws – there is nowhere for you to hide,” said United States Attorney Ken Sorenson. “The United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue and convict those who seek to steal from our country, and its honest tax paying citizens, through the operation of schemes to frustrate the lawful assessment and collection of taxes.”
Carrie Nordyke, Special Agent in Charge at IRS Criminal Investigation’s Seattle Field Office added: “For years, Ms. Lastimado-Dradi directed her co-conspirators to conceal this theft from the public through trusts and business entities… In the end our agents followed the money—and this ruling has given that money back to taxpayers.”
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation along with assistance from Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and FBI personnel.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregg Paris Yates together with Trial Attorney Sarah A. Kiewlicz prosecuted this matter.
