Collier County Tax Preparer Convicted In Multi-Million Dollar Tax Fraud Scheme

Fort Myers, FL – A federal jury has found Augustin Dalusma guilty of 12 counts of filing false claims against the Internal Revenue Service and three counts of making or subscribing to false tax returns. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison for each count of filing a false claim and up to three years’ imprisonment for each count of making a false tax return. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 27, 2020.

Dalusma was indicted on September 26, 2018.

According to evidence presented at trial, between 2012 and 2015, Dalusma, a tax preparer, falsified information in tax returns for 630 of his clients, fraudulently qualifying them for thousands of dollars in tax refunds that they were not lawfully entitled to collect. In total, the false claims filed on behalf of his clients exceeded $4 million over the four-year period. Dalusma also falsified his own tax returns from 2012 through 2014, significantly underreporting his own income to evade more than $30,000 in taxes for each of those years.     

This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon R. Eth and Trial Attorney Eyitayo St. Matthew-Daniel of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.