SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Aleksandr Kuzmenko, 33, of Loomis, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. to two years and three months in prison and ordered to pay $573,332 in restitution to the IRS for conspiracy to defraud the United States, Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Kuzmenko worked as a tax preparer at VK Tax Services in Citrus Heights in 2009. Between February 2009 and November 2009, Kuzmenko conspired with others to file approximately 90 fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service. The tax returns fraudulently claimed the First-Time Homebuyer Credit, which was worth as much as $7,500. The refunds for the fraudulent claims were electronically deposited into various bank accounts controlled by Kuzmenko’s co-defendants. The fraudulent claims totaled approximately $695,724, of which the IRS paid approximately $573,000.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Michele Beckwith prosecuted the case.
Co-defendants Peter Kuzmenko and Valeriy Nikitchuk have pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and they are currently scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 2, 2016. Co-defendant Arsen Muhtarov has entered a plea of not guilty. The charges against him are only allegations, and he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
