Sacramento, CA — A Loomis tax preparer has been slammed with a 27-month federal prison sentence for masterminding a brazen tax refund fraud scheme that ripped off the IRS for more than half a million dollars. Aleksandr Kuzmenko, 33, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. to two years and three months behind bars and ordered to pay $573,332 in restitution.
Kuzmenko, once employed at VK Tax Services in Citrus Heights, didn’t just cut corners—he torched them. Between February and November 2009, he conspired with others to file approximately 90 fraudulent federal income tax returns, all falsely claiming the First-Time Homebuyer Credit, a stimulus program worth up to $7,500 per claim. The scam totaled roughly $695,724 in phony claims, with the IRS coughing up about $573,000 before catching on.
The refunds weren’t mailed to victims’ homes—they were electronically funneled into bank accounts controlled by Kuzmenko’s co-conspirators. This wasn’t some fly-by-night operation; it was a coordinated digital heist, exploiting a government relief program meant to help struggling Americans buy homes. Instead, Kuzmenko and his crew turned it into a personal ATM.
The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation unit cracked the case after tracing the fraudulent deposits and filing patterns back to Kuzmenko and his associates. Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert made it clear: abusing public trust for personal gain carries serious consequences. ‘This was not a mistake—it was a calculated fraud,’ Talbert said in a statement.
Two co-defendants, Peter Kuzmenko and Valeriy Nikitchuk, have already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and are set for sentencing on December 2, 2016. The third, Arsen Muhtarov, has pleaded not guilty. As of now, the charges against him remain allegations—he is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith prosecuted the case, holding Kuzmenko accountable for turning a taxpayer-funded benefit into a criminal profit stream. The verdict sends a message: IRS fraud might seem invisible, but the feds are watching—and they’re ready to lock you up.
Related Federal Cases
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- Sacramento Con Man Gets 4+ Years for $1.1M Tax Heist · California
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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