AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC at 410-209-4885

August 25, 2006

HYATTSVILLE CPA SENTENCED IN SCHEME TO FILE FALSE TAX RETURNS

Repeatedly Falsified Business Expenses

GREENBELT, Maryland - Uche Kamalu, age 47, a certified public accountant of Hyattsville, Maryland was sentenced today to 27 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release in connection with his May 10, 2006 conviction by a federal jury on 10 counts of causing the filing of false income tax returns and one count of obstructing the due administration of the tax laws, announced United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. also ordered that Kamalu pay a $10,000 fine.

According to the testimony presented to the jury, Kamalu operated a tax return preparation service in Takoma Park, preparing federal and state income tax returns for individual clients. The evidence showed that Kamalu fraudulently led his clients to believe that certain mileage and other unreimbursed business expenses were expenses for which the client could claim an itemized deduction. In order to claim the expenses as deductions, Kamulu would prepare a tax return for the client, either falsely inflating the number of miles that were properly deductible or falsely claiming mileage when the client was not eligible for the deduction.

As a result, Kamalu filed dozens of false federal income tax returns with the IRS on behalf of numerous clients he represented for the tax years 1999 through 2002, seeking an unlawful benefit for his client taxpayers in the form of reduced income tax liabilities and increased income tax refunds. Because many of the taxpayers were not eligible to claim any business expense, by preparing the forms, Kamalu was able to charge an additional fee to the client and profit from the false form.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the investigative work performed by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. Mr. Rosenstein also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Pauzé and Stuart Berman, who prosecuted the case.