Two Las Vegas, Nevada, co-conspirators, who filed false tax returns seeking millions of dollars of fraudulent tax refunds, were sentenced to prison today, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich for the District of Nevada.
Defendant Chanh V. Trinh was sentenced to 102 months in prison and defendant Cannedy Trinh was sentenced to 24 months in prison.
According to documents filed with the court, Chanh V. Trinh, Cannedy Trinh, and Elizabeth Trinh, conspired to file federal corporate and individual tax returns reporting false income tax withholdings and payments, in order to cause the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to issue fraudulent income tax refunds. The Trinhs filed the returns in the names of fictitious business entities, their own names, and the names of other individuals, including a long-deceased family member. Chanh V. Trinh prepared and filed the returns. All three defendants deposited or cashed the fraudulently obtained refund checks using bank accounts and check-cashing businesses in Las Vegas. To conceal the funds, the defendants regularly purchased cashier’s checks, which they used to obtain gambling chips at local casinos. The conspiracy resulted in false claims of more than $6 million, and more than $2 million in fraudulent refunds paid out by the IRS.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Court Judge James C. Mahan ordered the defendants to each serve three years of supervised release. Defendant Chanh V. Trinh was ordered to pay restitution of $2,331,021, and defendant Cannedy Trinh was ordered to pay restitution of $1,144,902. Co-defendant Elizabeth Trinh is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15, 2019.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Trutanich commended special agents of IRS–Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Thomas W. Flynn and Eric C. Schmale of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Source: Department of Justice. This site is made available by CHINA NEWS – Professional Chinese Press Release Distribution service, Great China and Asia PR service provider. 【专业中文新闻稿发布，大中华地区及亚洲网络公关服务商】。