Defendant Prepared Tax Returns Claiming Over $477,000 In Fraudulent Tax Refunds
OAKLAND - Eric Oase was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in prison for filing false claims with the United States, and ordered to pay restitution of $357,531.76, announced Acting United States Attorney Alex G. Tse and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Batdorf. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, U.S. District Judge, following the entry of Oase’s guilty plea to the charges on Jan. 25, 2018.
Oase, 53, of Las Vegas, Nev., pleaded guilty to two counts of filing false claims with the United States. According to his plea agreement, Oase admitted to owning and operating E&K Tax Solutions in San Leandro, Calif., a business under which he prepared and filed false tax returns. In 2012, Oase prepared, and caused to be filed for his clients, tax returns covering varying calendar years between 2008 and 2011. The tax returns reported false wages, false education expenses, or both. Often, Oase caused to be delivered or filed on behalf of his clients tax returns that were preprinted and completed with income and expenses even before the taxpayer provided any income or expense information. By reporting false wages and expenses, Oase generated fraudulent tax refunds and then kept approximately 20% of the fraudulent refund as a fee. In total, Oase prepared tax returns claiming fraudulent tax refunds of $477,333. The IRS actually disbursed $357.531.76 pursuant to Oase’s scheme.
A federal grand jury indicted Oase on Jan. 17, 2017, charging him with multiple counts of filing false claims with the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 287. Pursuant to his plea agreement, Oase pleaded guilty to two of the counts and the remaining counts were dismissed.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Gonzalez Rogers also ordered Oase to serve three years of supervised release. Judge Gonzalez Rogers ordered the defendant to self-surrender to begin serving his sentence on or before July 16, 2018.
Assistant U.S. Attorney José A. Olivera is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by IRS, Criminal Investigation.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
