VALRICO, Fla. – Abdul Q. Aziz of Valrico was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for aiding in preparing and filing numerous false and fraudulent income tax returns.
Aziz pled guilty on April 4, 2022.
According to the IRS, Aziz prepared false income tax returns for friends and family members. These returns falsely claimed income and withholding credits based on interest paid on mortgages.
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The multiple false tax returns prepared and filed by Aziz led to claims for unlawful and unauthorized refunds exceeding $1.5 million, with an actual loss to the IRS exceeding $226,000.
“This sentencing shows how seriously we are committed to investigating and stopping the filing of fraudulent returns,” said Lani Rosado-Espinal, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the CI Tampa Field Office. “Schemes meant to defraud the government will be uncovered. We hope that anyone thinking of participating in this kind of nefarious activity will pause and hopefully realize that their freedom is more valuable than the potential for ill-gotten gains.”
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation. It is part of a lengthy investigation by the IRS in Tampa and Orlando centered upon this mortgage income/withholding scheme. Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer is prosecuting it.
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