POCATELLO – Moses Mukuka, 38, of Dallas, Texas, formerly living in Pocatello, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to counts one and two of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to file false claims for a refund and making a false claim against the United States, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to the plea agreement, Mukuka entered into an agreement with another individual to place flyers around the Idaho State University campus, advertising himself as an accounting student, which he was not, and offering to do income tax returns for a $10 fee. Mukuka received paperwork from students to prepare their taxes and then sent the information out-of-state to the other individual to prepare the tax returns. The tax returns were submitted to the IRS with false information, including the number of dependents, claims as head-of-household, and other fictitious entries designed to increase the refund amount. According to the plea agreement, Mukuka then distributed a small portion of the actual refund to the taxpayer, representing it was the entire refund, and failed to provide copies of the returns to the taxpayers. According to the plea agreement, Mukuka admitted that he was aware the tax returns were false. Mukuka agreed to pay an undetermined amount of restitution to the IRS.

The charge of conspiracy to file false claims for a refund is punishable by up to ten years in prison. The charge of making a false claim against the United States is punishable by up to five years. Each charge carries a maximum fine of $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release.

Sentencing is set for February 13, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.