Defendant Filed False Income Tax Returns in Names of Clients and Pocketed the Refunds
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Thuy Tien Le, 40, of Sterling, Va., pleaded guilty today to aiding in the preparation of false income tax returns and to wire fraud, in connection with her operation of a tax return preparation business called T2 Advantage Services, LLC.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.
Le faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison on the tax charge and 20 years in prison on the wire fraud charge when she is sentenced on July 18, 2014.
In a statement of facts filed with her plea agreement, Le admitted that from 2005 through 2013, she owned T2 Advantage Services, LLC, a tax return preparation business she operated from her home in Fairfax, Va. Le prepared federal income tax returns for her clients and led them to believe she had electronically filed legitimate returns with the IRS. Le admitted, however, that prior to filing, she altered the returns by adding false itemized deductions in order to generate large income tax refunds. Le admitted that she prepared and filed false income tax returns in this manner for at least 50 clients, without their knowledge or consent, and that she caused the fraudulently generated income tax refunds to be deposited electronically into bank accounts she controlled. She further admitted that she caused $454,455 in losses to the IRS.
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Nathanson is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
