Former Tax Return Preparer Pleads Guilty to Tax and Bankruptcy Fraud

Geoffrey Rotich pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return and making a false bankruptcy declaration, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Stephen R. McAllister of the District of Kansas.

According to documents filed with the court, Rotich owned and operated Inventax, a tax preparation business in Shawnee, Kansas.  In March 2013, Rotich willfully aided and assisted in the preparation and filing of an individual’s 2012 individual income tax return that he knew contained false claims for education expenses and other deductions.  Rotich also knowingly filed a fraudulent bankruptcy petition, which failed to disclose his interest in Inventax and to completely identify all of his bank accounts. 

U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree scheduled sentencing for March 21, 2019. Rotich faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison for the tax count and a maximum sentence of three years in prison for the bankruptcy fraud count.  Rotich also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney McAllister commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Timothy M. Russo of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Christopher Oakley of the District of Kansas, who prosecuted this case, and the U.S. Trustee’s Office in Wichita, Kansas for their substantial assistance.