Las Vegas Tax Preparer Gamble Doesn’t Pay
A Las Vegas tax preparer, King Umoren, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for filing false tax returns, aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, money laundering and impersonating an FBI agent.
From 2012 to 2016 Umoren filed tax returns on behalf of his clients that included false information in order to get bigger refunds. He often used the names and identification numbers of his employees so it didn’t appear as if he had filed the taxes. He required his clients to use a refund anticipation check program that enabled him to take out fees from his clients’ returns without their knowledge. In 2016 he went to a client’s house to demand payment of a tax preparation fee disguised as an FBI agent. He wore a fake badge and tactical gear and drove to the client’s house with police lights attached to his car.
In 2016 he attempted to sell the business at an inflated price by providing potential buyers with forged bank statements, fabricated fee reports, false personal tax returns, and the stolen tax and personal identifying information of approximately 12,000 taxpayers who were not his clients. Based on this information he found a buyer who paid 3.8 million dollars for the business.
In addition to the prison sentence, Umoren was ordered to pay $9,699,887 to the IRS and to the victims of his fraud schemes.
