Khofi Chatonda, Conspiracy, Aggravated Identity Theft, and Preparing False Returns, Minnesota 2013

Four Minneapolis-based tax preparers have been charged with a string of crimes including conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, and preparing false tax returns.

According to a superseding indictment unsealed on December 23, 2013, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the four defendants – Chatonda Khofi, Ishmael Kosh, Amadou Sangaray, and Francis Saygbay – allegedly conspired to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at Primetime Tax Services Inc., a tax return preparation business with three storefronts in the Minneapolis area.

The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury on November 19, 2013, alleges that the defendants prepared and filed false individual income tax returns for the customers of Primetime, reporting false dependents, deductions, business losses, and wage income. These false entries resulted in fraudulently inflated refunds for their customers.

As part of the scheme, the defendants also prepared and filed false Minnesota state income tax returns for their customers, containing the same or similar false information as reported on the federal income tax returns.

The indictment charges each defendant with multiple counts of aggravated identity theft and aiding and assisting in the preparation of false individual income tax returns. The aggravated identity theft charges stem from the defendants’ alleged use of the names and social security numbers of actual persons to falsely claim as dependents on their customers’ individual income tax returns.

According to the indictment, the defendants also accompanied some customers to check-cashing businesses to cash their falsely inflated tax refund checks, then demanded a portion of the cashed refund check in addition to tax preparation fees already collected. In some instances, the defendants withdrew cash from debit cards containing their customers’ refunds without permission, again in addition to the tax preparation fees they had already collected.

Defendant Khofi, the Chief Executive Officer of Primetime, allegedly prepared and filed over 2,000 customer federal income tax returns with the IRS from 2007 to 2009.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum potential sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy count, three years in prison for each count of aiding in the preparation of a false tax return, and a mandatory two-year sentence for the aggravated identity theft counts.

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