Oakland, Calif. - Naushad Buksh today pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return and aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agent in Charge Jose M. Martinez announced.
According to his plea agreement, Buksh has prepared tax returns for approximately 20 years. During 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, he operated a tax return preparation business in Hayward, Calif., and was responsible for all income and expenses at that business. Buksh intentionally signed and filed with the IRS false U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns for 2007 through 2010, which underreported his gross receipts by $599,226 and resulted in a tax loss of $160,528.
Buksh admitted in his plea that, in addition to filing false returns for himself, he also prepared tax returns on behalf of his clients that included false deductions and credits for the purpose of creating fraudulent tax refunds. Buksh knew the deductions and credits were false because he fabricated them. Some of the false deductions and credits included home mortgage interest and points, unreimbursed employee expenses, inflated education credits, student loan interest and/or tuition fee deductions, false personal property tax deductions, and false or inflated tax preparation fees.
Buksh, 56, of Hayward, Calif., was charged on May 15, 2012, with four counts of making and subscribing false tax returns and 41 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. He pleaded guilty to one count of each. Buksh is next scheduled to appear in federal court in Oakland at 2 p.m. on April 11 for sentencing before United States District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
The maximum statutory penalty for each count of making and subscribing to a false income tax return, in violation of Title 26, U.S.C § 7206(1), and aiding and assisting in the preparing of false tax returns, in violation of Title 26, U.S.C § 7206(2), is three years in prison and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Thomas Moore is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
