Preparers accused of criminal tax fraud, grand larceny, and filing fraudulent tax returns
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance today announced charges against seven individual tax preparers in recent months. The charges include criminal tax fraud, grand larceny, offering a false instrument for filing, and forgery.
“We continue to aggressively pursue unscrupulous tax preparers who betray the trust of clients and deprive communities and the state of revenue needed for vital services,” said New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Michael Schmidt. “Our investigators and experts use a variety of methods and analytics-driven systems to uncover these rogue tax preparers and hold them accountable.”
Crack down on bad tax preparers and businesses
Yehad Abdelaziz and his corporation, The Five Pillars Financial Services, LTD, located in Brooklyn, NY, pled guilty to Criminal Tax Fraud. A Tax Department investigation determined Abdelaziz received money from business owners and filed Sales Tax returns on their behalf. However, he underreported sales or reported zero gross sales, pocketing the Sales Tax payments his clients entrusted him to remit on their behalf. Abdelaziz is barred from New York State tax preparation activities for an entire year.
Claude Bruno of Cambria Heights, NY, is accused of operating without the required registration to legally prepare tax returns in New York. Bruno is also accused of failing to sign the returns he prepared and fraudulently claiming inflated expense amounts for his clients.
Raul Martinez of Englewood, N.J., faces seven felony counts, including one count for repeatedly failing to file corporate tax for his business, Apollo Tax, located at 170 Dyckman Street in New York City. He was also charged with third-degree grand larceny for claiming a refund of nearly $7,000 by allegedly providing false information on his 2015 personal income tax return. In addition, Martinez was charged with one count of third-degree criminal tax fraud, one count of fourth-degree criminal tax fraud, and three counts of offering a false instrument for filing.
Emerson Gamory Income Tax Services, located in Brooklyn, NY, pled guilty to Criminal Tax Fraud. Emerson Gamory submitted tax returns on behalf of his clients between 2015 and 2016 in which he falsely claimed gifts to charity and job expenses as itemized deductions on almost 50% of the returns he filed. Gamory is barred from preparing New York State taxes for an entire year. He was previously sentenced to 15 months in Federal prison and ordered to pay $574,565 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
Yachun Lin is accused of filing false 2017 and 2018 New York State tax returns with forged signatures. She allegedly attempted to steal nearly $4,475 from New York State by suggesting her client use an address of a friend or family member who lives outside of New York City in order to save money.
Lin then allegedly used that false address to prepare the New York State tax returns. Lin was charged with Criminal Tax Fraud, Offering a False Instrument for Filing, Attempted Grand Larceny and Forgery. Lin is not a registered New York State tax preparer despite the fact that she allegedly prepared a tax return out of a commercial space in Flushing Queens, designated as ETS Tax Services.
Nayib Chabur, a registered New York State Tax preparer, and his wife Maria Chabur, who is not a registered tax preparer, were arrested for filing a false 2018 New York State tax return in an attempt to defraud the state. Acting together, they are alleged to have included an IRA deduction that was not true nor discussed with their client while preparing the return. They were both arraigned and charged with Criminal Tax Fraud, Offering a False Instrument for Filing, Attempted Petit Larceny, Conspiracy, and Forgery.
Each year, tax return preparers who are not otherwise exempt must register with New York State before providing any commercial tax return preparation services or filing tax returns with the department. Those who fail to comply with New York’s registration program may be subject to steep monetary penalties or other administrative action.
Report fraud
Taxpayers who believe a tax preparer has engaged in illegal or improper conduct may file a complaint. The department will review the complaint promptly and, if appropriate, take corrective action. For details, please see our Report fraud, scams, and identity theft web page.
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