Two tales of Bozo tax preparers came out at week’s end, and both come from Denver.
First, Kennedy Oduro liked to make sure his customers got refunds. He invented false deductions and credits, and saved his clients $283,000 in 2003 and $342,000 in 2004. There’s just one problem with that—inventing false items on a tax return is quite illegal. Mr. Oduro left the country before he could be arrested. When he returned last December he was arrested at O’Hare Airport in Chicago. He pleaded guilty in August to one count of willfully aiding and assisting the preparation of false federal income tax return. He was sentenced last week to a year and a day at ClubFed and must make restitution of $21,000.
What Mr. Oduro did as one tax preparer is what the government alleges an Aurora, Colorado company did en masse. Eight individuals who worked at Olympia Financial and Tax Services are accused in two indictments of 66 counts of violating various tax and fraud statutes. “They created false deductions to generate fraudulent refunds and we are determined to stop these tax refund schemes,” said Christopher M. Sigerson, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-Criminal Investigation, Denver Field Office. The scheme involved $2 million in allegedly phony tax refund claims against the IRS and the Colorado Department of Revenue. The eight are looking at lengthy stays at ClubFed if found guilty of all counts.
If someone tells you something that sound too good to be true remember that it most likely is.
Tags: BozoTaxPreparer