J. Bishop Grewell Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado | U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado
Thuan Bui, a 60-year-old resident of Littleton, Colorado, has been sentenced to the maximum statutory term of 36 months in federal prison. In addition to the prison sentence, Bui will serve one year of supervised release and pay a $50,000 fine after pleading guilty to aiding or assisting in the preparation of false documents.
Bui operated a tax preparation business under various names from 2016 to 2021. He falsely claimed to be a certified public accountant and manipulated hundreds of tax returns by understating his clients' tax liabilities. This was done by overstating or creating false expenses on Schedule C forms used for reporting income or loss on businesses.
Acting United States Attorney J. Bishop Grewell stated, "This defendant willfully and repeatedly abused his clients’ trust when his job was to help them accurately file their annual tax returns." He urged taxpayers to ensure their information is reported accurately during the ongoing tax season.
Amanda Prestegard, Special Agent in Charge at IRS-Criminal Investigations Denver Field Office, emphasized the importance of trust between tax preparers and their clients. "Bui violated that trust and federal tax laws in the process," she said. She added that identifying fraudulent preparers remains a priority for IRS-CI.
The sentencing was overseen by United States District Court Judge Regina M. Rodriguez. The investigation was conducted by IRS-Criminal Investigation, with Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca Weber handling the prosecution.
