St. Louis, MO - Omar Jaber, 31, of St. John, Missouri was sentenced to 27 months imprisonment to be followed by three years supervised release and $197,213 in restitution to the IRS. Jaber admitted to stealing government funds while a tax preparer for Rapid Tax Service in St. Louis during 2015 and 2016. Jaber pleaded guilty on May 7, 2018 and appeared for sentencing in St. Louis today before U.S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry.
In his plea, Jaber admitted to stealing the personal identification of forty-two different individuals, filing false tax returns in their names and converting some or all of their purported tax refunds to his own use.
At sentencing, the government pointed out that while the U.S. Treasury is the ultimate victim of Jaber’s malfeasance, many of the individual victims depending on refunds due to the Earned Income Tax Credit. The delay in their receipt of tax refunds was a significant economic hardship to taxpayers who depend on the EITC to supplement their wages.
“Today’s sentence highlights the seriousness of the defendant’s conduct," said Karl Stiften, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation, St. Louis Field Office. “Today, Mr. Jaber is being held accountable for his criminal activity."
“Vigorous prosecution and substantial sentences in cases of tax fraud, especially those involving tax preparers, is essential to our nation’s voluntary tax compliance system," said U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen.
This case was investigated by the IRS - Criminal Investigation Bureau. Assistant United States Attorney Tom Albus is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
