LOS ANGELES – Michael Joseph Calalang Cabuhat, a 42-year-old resident of the Hollywood Hills West neighborhood of Los Angeles, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for stealing over $1.2 million in tax refunds from his clients.
Cabuhat, a half-owner of VisionQwest Resource Group, Inc., which operates VisionQwest Accountancy Group and Icon Tax Group, Inc., in Glendale, was sentenced by United States District Judge John F. Walter.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Walter described Cabuhat’s scheme as ‘vicious’ because it led to both financial and emotional harm to his victim-clients.
Cabuhat admitted that, from 2010 through 2016, he defrauded his clients in two ways. In some instances, he would give his clients a copy of a tax return that showed a much smaller refund amount than on the tax return that he actually filed with the IRS. Sometimes, he would increase the amount of tax owed on the taxpayer’s copy of the return, thereby decreasing the refund; and sometimes he would manipulate the expenses reported on the filed returns to increase the refund.
In other instances, Cabuhat would give his clients a copy of a tax return that falsely showed a tax due, but he would file with the IRS a tax return that sought a refund. He would then tell the taxpayer to make the ‘tax payment’ directly to him so he could remit the payment to the IRS. In fact, Cabuhat kept the ‘tax payment’ and directed the IRS to deposit the refund that the client should have received into a bank account that he controlled.
Using these fraudulent means, Cabuhat stole more than $1.2 million that belonged to over 150 of his clients. He also admitted that he failed to report this money on his own tax returns, which allowed him to evade the payment of approximately $268,000 that he owed to the IRS.
In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Walter ordered Cabuhat to pay $1,496,416 in restitution to his victims and the IRS. Cabuhat has already transferred and agreed to transfer to federal authorities $426,528 derived from the sale of his residence and a Ferrari 360 Spider that was seized from Cabuhat when he was arrested last year.
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).
Defendant Name: Michael Joseph Calalang Cabuhat
Criminal Charges: Wire fraud and subscription to a false federal income tax return
City and State: Glendale, California
Sentencing Date: June 2023
Sentence: 46 months in federal prison
Dollar Amounts: $1,496,416 in restitution, $426,528 transferred to federal authorities
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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