A brazen scheme to defraud the United States of a staggering $225,327 in tax refunds has landed a Hawaii couple in hot water. Michael and Brigida Chock, residents of Ewa Beach, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States by obtaining a fraudulent tax refund and then thwarting IRS efforts to recoup it.
According to court documents, the couple conspired with a third individual to prepare a false 2014 amended individual income tax return (Form 1040X) and a false miscellaneous income form (Form 1099-MISC) purportedly issued by a mortgage lender to Michael Chock. The tax return falsely reported an inflated tax withholding amount based on the fraudulent Form 1099-MISC, resulting in the massive refund.
The Chocks took several steps to obstruct IRS efforts to recover the fraudulently obtained refund, including depositing the refund check into a bank account in the name of a trust they created to conceal the refund and by paying the coconspirator $73,500 for assistance in obtaining and concealing the refund. They also falsely claimed to the IRS that they had prepared the false tax return themselves.
The scheme was uncovered, and the couple now faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg and U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors made the announcement, which was met with relief from IRS officials who had been investigating the case with the help of IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), and the FBI.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Sarah Kiewlicz and Meredith Havekost of the Justice’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregg Paris Yates of the District of Hawaii.
Defendant’s Full Name: Michael and Brigida Chock
City and State: Ewa Beach, Hawaii
Exact Criminal Charges: Conspiring to defraud the United States by obtaining a fraudulent tax refund
Exact Date with Month/Day/Year: Not specified
Sentence or Outcome: Pleaded guilty, faces up to five years in prison, supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties
Exact Amount: $225,327 and $73,500
Related Federal Cases
- Kenneth Randle Door, Tax Fraud Scheme, Tacoma WA, 2023 · Hawaii
- Michael Timothy Buchanan, Health Care Fraud, Pennsylvania 2019 · Indiana
- Scotty Thomas Lumley, Bank and Tax Fraud, Tennessee 2022 · Hawaii
- Stewart Olani Stant, Wire Fraud, Hawaii 2024 · Hawaii
- Newton Kaleo DeLeon, Wire Fraud and Money Laundering, Hawaii 2024 · Hawaii
Key Facts
- State: Hawaii
- Category: White Collar Crime|Tax Evasion
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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