Austin Businessman Found Guilty in Fraudulent Tax Return Case

In Austin today, 48-year-old Sean James Hager was found guilty on three counts of aiding and assisting the preparation of false tax returns announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agent in Charge William Cotter.  Hager was also found guilty of two counts of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

A jury sitting before U. S. District Judge Lee Yeakel found Hager guilty of fraudulently reporting his total income to a tax preparer for tax years 2008, 2009, and 2010.  According to court records, Hager was employed by Velocity Electronics to locate computer parts for resale to Dell Computer.  Unbeknownst to Velocity, Hager and his wife also operated Echt Electronics, LLC, through which he acquired and sold computer parts to Velocity at a significant mark up.  Hager provided to his tax preparer for reporting to IRS only the W-2s he received from Velocity, and failed to report the income received from Echt Electronics.  As a result, he caused and assisted the preparation of false tax returns to the IRS.

“The sum of all parts on Sean Hager’s theft from his employer and cheating on his taxes is simple – guilty on all counts,” said William Cotter, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge. “Taxpayers deserve our vigilance in the investigation and prosecution of allegations of those who hide income and evade the payment of their fair share of taxes.”

Hager is scheduled for sentencing August 19, 2016.

This case was investigated by the IRS-CI.  Assistant United States Attorneys Alan Buie and Elizabeth Cottingham prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.

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