Sean Edin Talaee, Embezzlement and Tax Evasion, California 2024

LOS ANGELES – A brazen scheme to pilfer nearly $3 million from a Burbank printing company and then stick the IRS with the bill landed a former controller a hefty prison sentence. Sean Edin Talaee, 63, of Glendale, was sentenced today to 87 months – over seven years – in federal prison after pleading guilty to mail fraud and filing a false tax return.

Talaee, formerly the controller for Printograph, Inc., doing business as GotPrint.com, exploited his position between October 2015 and June 2018. He was responsible for overseeing the company’s accounting and tax payments. The scheme revolved around estimated tax payments Printograph routinely made to the IRS. Talaee’s job was to prepare the checks, but instead of submitting them properly, he swapped out the company’s information for his own.

Prosecutors detailed how Talaee obtained company checks from the president, then fraudulently altered the IRS voucher forms. By inserting his own taxpayer information, he diverted $2.8 million in company funds, effectively laundering the stolen money *through* the IRS itself. The IRS, believing the payments came from Printograph, issued Talaee a total of $2,778,994 in fraudulent tax refunds over three years – 2015, 2016, and 2017.

The scope of the fraud is staggering. Beyond the direct embezzlement, Talaee failed to report the $2.8 million as income, resulting in a total tax loss to the government of $740,085. The prosecution argued Talaee didn’t just steal from his employer, he actively created a potential tax liability for the company and its owner. “(Talaee) embezzled a significant amount of money from Printograph and exposed the company – and its owner personally – to potential tax liability stemming from his theft of the company’s tax payments,” the sentencing memorandum stated. “He did so repeatedly over the course of two years for his own personal gain.”

Judge Otis D. Wright II didn’t just hand down the 87-month sentence. He also ordered Talaee to pay $2,933,585 in restitution, attempting to claw back the stolen funds and cover the tax losses. The investigation was a joint effort by IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI, highlighting the federal agencies’ commitment to tackling complex financial crimes.

Assistant United States Attorney Alexander C.K. Wyman of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted the case. This conviction serves as a stark warning: attempting to defraud both a private company *and* the government will result in severe consequences. Talaee’s calculated manipulation of the tax system proved to be a costly gamble, ending with a lengthy prison term and a massive debt to pay.

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