Los Angeles – LAWFUEL – Abdul Wahid, of Chino Hills, the owner of Global Accounting and Tax Service in Los Angeles, made his initial appearance in United States District Court yesterday. Wahid appeared to answer charges that he personally evaded nearly $1,000,000 in federal income taxes as well as stole client payments that were intended to go to federal and state taxing authorities. Further, Wahid is alleged to have stolen a tax refund check, based upon a false tax return he filed with the Internal Revenue Service. The return Wahid filed with the IRS was in the name of a person whose identity Wahid had stolen
According to the criminal information filed in January 2008 in United States District Court in Los Angeles, Wahid is accused of tax evasion, aggravated identity theft, the theft of government property, and mail fraud stemming from his scheme to defraud clients of his tax preparation business.
Wahid allegedly failed to file his personal federal income tax returns, Forms 1040, for the years 2002 through 2006, even though he knew he was required to do so. In not filing his tax returns, Wahid failed to report over $2.9 million in business receipts to the IRS. Included in the business receipts Wahid failed to report were client payments to the IRS and other tax authorities which he deposited into his own accounts and kept for his own use.
In addition to not filing tax returns with the IRS for five years, Wahid is alleged to have devised and executed a scheme to defraud clients of his tax return preparation business, wherein Wahid would prepare personal and business tax returns for clients which would show a significant amount of tax due. Wahid would then instruct his clients to give him checks for the amount due on their returns, directing them to make the checks payable to the appropriate taxing authority or to Wahid personally. Wahid would then deposit the checks made payable to him personally into his bank accounts and would not pay the clients’ tax due showing on their returns. Additionally, in cases where Wahid’s clients made checks payable to the IRS or other taxing authorities, Wahid would negotiate these checks as well, converting the proceeds to his own use.
To avoid detection, Wahid would prepare a second, different, tax return, showing little or no tax due for the clients whose checks he had stolen. Wahid would then submit the second returns, which greatly understated his clients’ tax due, to the appropriate tax agency.
When sentenced for his crimes, Wahid faces a statutory maximum 97 years in federal prison and fines totaling at least $1,500,000. Wahid is scheduled to go to trial on April 8, 2008.
The investigation of Wahid was conducted by IRS – Criminal Investigation, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Social Security Administration in Los Angeles.
An information is a charging document which contains allegations of violations committed by defendants. All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty before the court.
