Mequon Business Owner Charged with Filing False Tax Returns for Clients

Matthew D. Krueger, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that federal charges had been filed against Randy D. Usow (age 62) of Mequon, Wisconsin. Usow is charged with theft of government property and aggravated identity theft.  The United States also filed a plea agreement it had reached with Usow under which he will plead guilty to these charges.

Usow, who operated an accounting business in Mequon known as Randy Usow Accounting, Inc., prepared and filed state and federal tax returns for third parties.  The charges against Usow are based on his preparing and filing of false tax returns for one of his clients and his wife in which Usow fraudulently claimed refunds the clients were not entitled to and then diverting the fraudulent refunds to himself. 

To conceal his activity, Usow provide the clients with a different version of the tax returns that reflected the correct refund the clients were entitled to. 

To facilitate his theft, Usow opened a bank account in the name of his client without the client’s knowledge or consent.  Usow then directed the IRS to send a fraudulent refund to this account.  After receiving the refund, Usow transferred a portion of the refund to a second bank account he had opened in the name “US Government, LLC.”  Usow then used this account to pay the clients the smaller refund the clients were expecting.

During the period from April 2011 through May 2015, Usow filed at least four false federal income tax returns, fraudulently seeking more than $800,000 in federal income tax refunds and diverted those funds to himself.

Usow faces a minimum of two years in prison, and up to 12 years in prison, and a fine of up to $250,000, as well as having to pay restitution to the United States.

This matter was investigated by the Criminal Investigation of the Internal Revenue and has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Matthew L. Jacobs for prosecution.

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For additional information contact:

Public Information Officer Dean Puschnig 414-297-1700