CLARKSVILLE, Ind. — Indiana State Police have arrested two people for corrupt business practices following a two-year investigation.
Jony Zavala, 50, and his wife Maria Bonilla, 40, were both arrested Monday.
The couple is charged with numerous felonies including racketeering and several counts of theft and tax evasion.
Authorities began investigating the couple's businesses in February 2023 after receiving a tip alleging Zavala was charging individuals money to set up and provide vehicle registrations for people not legally allowed to register their vehicles in Indiana.
Over the course of the investigation, ISP learned Zavala had registered 29 LLCs in recent years for what appeared to be fake businesses.
Detectives also learned the couple were the organizers of at least nine LLCs in Indiana where they were principal members.
"It was alleged that through the course of their proprietorship of those businesses, neither Zavala nor Bonilla had filed personal or business tax returns," ISP added.
In May of this year, ISP and the Indiana Department of Revenue executed search warrants at their home in Clarksville.
Investigators discovered that business records were not being maintained for any of the nine LLCs that the couple owned.
Zavala and Bonilla also couldn't provide the records when ordered to by the Department of Revenue.
A month later, the Department of Revenue learned only two of the nine LLCs that Zavala and Bonilla owned had filed tax returns between 2019 and 2023. The records for the other seven businesses remained undocumented.
ISP said authorities also learned the couple did not provide all bank statements when preparing business records and tax returns for those two companies they filed for, effectively failing to declare all of their income.
Both Zavala and Bonilla at the Clark County Jail.
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