Tax Preparer Sentenced to Prison for $1.4M Fraud Scheme

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Alexandria man was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for defrauding the U.S. government of approximately $1.4 million in tax revenue by preparing false tax returns on behalf of his unsuspecting clients.

According to court documents, between 2016 and 2020, Lawrence Appiah-Osei, 58, ran a tax preparation business called New Look Enterprise out of his home in Alexandria. From at least 2017 through 2020, Appiah-Osei executed a scheme to fraudulently inflate the tax refunds of his clients. To do so, Appiah-Osei falsely claimed that his clients operated businesses that lost thousands of dollars each year. These fraudulent losses drove down the clients’ taxable income and increased the clients’ tax refunds. The Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) estimates the Appiah-Osei’s actions resulted in a tax loss of approximately $1.4 million to the federal government.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Kareem A. Carter, IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Washington D.C. Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hood prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:23-cr-113.