Two people from Ottumwa have been convicted in what an IRS agent describes as a massive scheme to defraud taxpayers by directing income tax refunds and unemployment benefits into bank accounts they could access.
Forty-seven year old Thein Maung pleaded guilty to fraud in May and a jury found his 21-year-old daughter Phyo Mi guilty last week. Court documents show the pair prepared tax returns for immigrants and refugees who worked at meat-packing plants. Of the 1600 federal tax returns they submitted over a four-year period, they improperly claimed $3.5 million in residential energy credits. They also claimed some of their clients were members of the U.S. military and eligible for moving expense deductions.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the pair directed some of the fraudulent tax refunds to bank accounts they could access. The father and daughter also had nearly $100,000 in unemployment benefits sent to their own accounts rather than to eligible workers. The special agent in charge of the IRS criminal investigation office in St. Louis says the pair took advantage of trusting taxpayers who spoke little or no English.
Sentencing for the two is scheduled in late September.