FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885
SEPTEMBER 14, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OWNER OF AIA ACCOUNTING AND TAX SERVICES SENTENCED TO OVER SIX YEARS FOR FRAUDULENT TAX PREPARATION
Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. sentenced Isaac Ahanmisi, age 46, of Hyattsville, Maryland late yesterday to 78 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release after being convicted on June 11, 2007 of 19 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of fraudulent tax returns, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein stated, “Anyone who is tempted to lie on federal tax forms should keep in mind that IRS agents are trained to detect fraudulent schemes and refer the perpetrators for federal criminal prosecution.”
Special Agent in Charge, Francis. L. Turner, IRS, Criminal Investigation stated, "While most return preparers provide excellent service to their clients, a few unscrupulous tax preparers file false and fraudulent returns to defraud the government, the tax paying public and their own clients. Preparing false tax returns does not pay and those who do will be prosecuted."
According to the evidence established at trial, Ahanmisi owned and operated a business called Ahanmisi Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a AIA Accounting and Tax Services, and held himself out to the public as a tax return preparer who could aid clients in obtaining rapid refunds. From 1999 to 2004, Ahanmisi caused numerous false federal individual income tax returns to be filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Unbeknownst to his clients, Ahanmisi submitted fraudulent deductions on these returns for clients who did not incur the related expenses or provide any information that would have justified the claiming of such deductions and expenses. Ahanmisi prepared false returns claiming, among other things, (1) deductions for gifts to charities that were never made; (2) deductions for expenses associated with unreimbursed employee expenses to which the taxpayer was not entitled; (3) deductions for medical and dental expenses that were never incurred or paid; (4) false rental income credits for expenses that were never incurred or paid; and (5) credits for education for clients who did not incur education-related expenses.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and IRS Special Enforcement Program for their investigative work and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gina L. Simms and Stacy Dawson Belf, who prosecuted the case.