FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885
March
23, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONTGOMERY COUNTY TAX PREPARER CONVICTED
OF PREPARING FALSE FEDERAL TAX RETURNS
Baltimore, Maryland - A federal jury yesterday convicted Mohamed Babar Sangarie, age 48, of Germantown and Gaithersburg, Maryland, of 20 counts of filing false income tax returns with the IRS.
The jury verdict was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge C. André Martin of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation.
“Tax return preparer fraud is like a contagious disease, it affects not only the preparer, but the individuals who have filed false information with Internal Revenue Service,” stated C. André Martin, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge, Washington D.C. Field Office. “Return preparer fraud continues to be a priority for the IRS-Criminal Investigation.”
According to testimony presented at the two week trial, between 2002 and 2005, Sangarie operated a tax return preparation business from his home in Montgomery County, known as MBS Tax Service. For tax years 2002 through 2004, Sangarie prepared individual federal tax returns containing false information for his clients, inflating and fabricating deductions and credits in order to fraudulently increase the refunds due to his clients, or decrease their tax liability. For example, Sangarie fabricated and inflated the amount of clients’ charitable gifts, job-related expenses, medical expenses, business expenses and expenses for tuition and education fees.
Sangarie faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison on each count of conviction. U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz scheduled sentencing for May 18, 2010 at 10:30 a.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Pauze, Robert Hur and Jonathan Su, who are prosecuting the case.