A Mequon business owner has been charged with filing false tax returns and stealing over $800,000 in refunds, according to a federal indictment unsealed today.
Randy D. Usow, 62, of Mequon, operated an accounting business known as Randy Usow Accounting, Inc. and prepared and filed state and federal tax returns for third parties.
The charges against Usow are based on his preparing and filing of false tax returns for one of his clients and his wife in which Usow fraudulently claimed refunds the clients were not entitled to and then diverting the fraudulent refunds to himself.
To conceal his activity, Usow provided the clients with a different version of the tax returns that reflected the correct refund the clients were entitled to. To facilitate his theft, Usow opened a bank account in the name of his client without the client’s knowledge or consent.
Usow then directed the IRS to send a fraudulent refund to this account. After receiving the refund, Usow transferred a portion of the refund to a second bank account he had opened in the name “US Government, LLC.” Usow then used this account to pay the clients the smaller refund the clients were expecting.
During the period from April 2011 through May 2015, Usow filed at least four false federal income tax returns, fraudulently seeking more than $800,000 in federal income tax refunds and diverted those funds to himself.
Usow faces a minimum of two years in prison, and up to 12 years in prison, and a fine of up to $250,000, as well as having to pay restitution to the United States.
This matter was investigated by the Criminal Investigation of the Internal Revenue and has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Matthew L. Jacobs for prosecution.
Usow has reached a plea agreement with the United States and he will plead guilty to the charges.
For additional information, contact Public Information Officer Dean Puschnig at 414-297-1700.
Related Federal Cases
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- Tomeki L. Tyson Indicted on 21 Counts of Tax Fraud · Wisconsin
- Howard Webber Convicted in $600K Prisoner Tax Fraud Scheme · Wisconsin
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Key Facts
- State: Wisconsin
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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