A Bellevue, Washington, tax preparer was sentenced on July 15 to 18 months in prison in U.S. District Court in Seattle for three counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false tax returns. Thanjavur Manavalan, age 65, owner and operator of Mano Accounting Services, was convicted after an eight-day jury trial in March.
At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Lauren King said Manavalan showed “complete disrespect for the law.” Judge King described it as a “long standing fraud scheme that ended only when the IRS showed up at your front door.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd said, “This defendant lined his pockets and grew his business by filing fraudulent tax returns on behalf of his clients. He cheated the tax system out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. My office is committed to going after fraud wherever it occurs, especially for those who expand their business through lies and deception.”
Carrie Nordyke, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Seattle Field Office, said, “Mr. Manavalan’s actions were deliberate and violated the trust placed in him by his clients and community. The sentencing reflects the seriousness of his conduct and underscores our commitment to holding tax professionals accountable for their choices.”
According to court records and testimony at trial, Manavalan falsified items on clients’ returns such as charitable contributions, investment proceeds and basis amounts, business losses, rental income, and private loans. Many clients worked in technology fields or were originally from India; they testified that they trusted Manavalan with their taxes.
Prosecutors indicated that Mano Accounting Services filed thousands of returns during the scheme’s duration with year-over-year growth increasing from about fifty additional filings to nearly 300 per year. The trial focused on more than a dozen fraudulent returns from 2018-2020; Judge King found total tax loss exceeded $250,000.
In addition to prison time, Manavalan must pay restitution totaling $115,672 as well as a $100,000 fine; he will also serve one year supervised release following incarceration. Prosecutors wrote that “Manavalan deliberately falsified the fifteen returns as part of his broader scheme to improve client results.” Manavalan has owned Mano Accounting Services since 2004 but has indicated he is closing his business.
The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David T. Martin and Carolyn Forstein.
The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington handles federal prosecutions—including cases like this—and civil litigation across areas including Seattle and Tacoma; it operates offices there with about 85 attorneys supported by approximately 70 staff members as part of the Department of Justice’s efforts toward community safety through programs addressing gun violence and online threats, according to the official website.