KC Man Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax Returns

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to filing a false tax return.

Ashwini Kumar, 54, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to a federal information that charges him with one count of filing a false tax return.

By pleading guilty today, Kumar admitted that he filed false tax returns for 2014, 2015, and 2016. Kumar filed a tax return for the year 2014 in which he falsely claimed $32,000 in taxable business income, when he knew his true taxable business income was $174,996. Kumar filed a tax return for the year 2015 in which he falsely claimed $19,218 in taxable business income, when he knew his true taxable business income was $157,596. Kumar filed a tax return for the year 2016 in which he falsely claimed $26,081 in taxable business income, when he knew his true taxable business income was $173,421.

The false tax returns filed by Kumar for those three years resulted in a total tax loss to the government of $136,277. This does not include interest or penalties that may be assessed by the IRS. After the federal investigation was initiated Kumar paid $136,277 in restitution to the IRS.

According to today’s plea agreement, those tax returns were utilized in relation to the filing of false Pell Grant applications from 2014-2018.

Under federal statutes, Kumar is subject to a sentence of up to three years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.