Accountant Sentenced for Fraudulent Return

United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Donald Ray Ondrak, 61, of Lexington, Nebraska, was sentenced today in Lincoln, to 1 year and 1 day in prison by United States District Judge Laurie Smith-Camp, for aiding in the preparation of a false tax return.  After prison, Ondrak will be required to serve 1 year of supervised release, and pay a fine in the amount of $5,000.  Ondrak previously surrendered his CPA license.

Ondrak was a Certified Public Accountant in Lexington, Nebraska, who prepared tax returns for many farmers, businessmen, and businesses, in the central Nebraska area. In 2007, Ondrak filed a Form 1120 tax return for a medical equipment business that reflected a fraudulent $800,000 management fee expense as a “cost of labor”.  This had the effect of lowering taxable income for the business, thereby reducing its tax liability by $254,715.

IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Sybil Smith said, “Tax return preparers have a duty to their clients to prepare tax returns that comply with the law and are accurate.  IRS Criminal Investigation wants to make sure taxpayers do not pay good money for bad advice.”

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations Division.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/tax.