Woman in Fresno Mansion Fraud Case Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion

By Anthony W. Haddad

Published 2 months ago on

April 21, 2025

Pilar Rose, 51, formerly of Fresno, was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to forfeit over $2.5 million after orchestrating a years-long tax evasion scheme involving fake financial records, fraudulent loan applications, and obstruction of an IRS audit. (Zillow)

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A former Fresno woman was sentenced Monday to two years in federal prison for tax evasion and obstructing an IRS audit, officials said.

Pilar Rose, 51, was also ordered to forfeit more than $2.5 million in proceeds from the sale of her and her husband’s mansion on Van Ness Extension and a luxury BMW, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith said in a statement.

According to court records, between 2012 and 2015, Rose prepared false financial statements for her husband’s orthodontics practice that significantly underreported income, allowing the couple to avoid more than $870,000 in federal taxes.

In one case, she claimed the couple had more than $250,000 in their bank accounts when they had less than $3,000.

Prosecutors said Rose also altered hundreds of checks in 2016 — originally written for nondeductible personal expenses such as mortgage payments, utilities, landscaping, and college tuition — to appear as business-related. She submitted the doctored checks, along with false financial statements, to IRS auditors in an effort to conceal the fraud.

Rose further misled financial institutions in two separate attempts to refinance a $1.5 million mortgage on the couple’s mansion, officials said. In one case, she claimed the couple had more than $250,000 in their bank accounts when they had less than $3,000.

In 2017, Rose purchased a new BMW sedan for about $90,000 using a fraudulent loan application that falsely stated she was an attorney earning more than $600,000 a year. She also used a Social Security number belonging to her husband’s former dental school classmate to avoid a credit check under her own name.

Authorities later seized both the mansion and the car.

Rose was convicted of tax evasion and obstruction of an IRS audit as part of a broader fraud scheme stretching over several years.

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Anthony W. Haddad,

Multimedia Journalist

Anthony W. Haddad, who graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with his undergraduate degree and attended Fresno State for a MBA, is the Swiss Army knife of GV Wire. He writes stories, manages social media, and represents the organization on the ground.