Norman D. West, Tax Refund Fraud, Maryland 2013

A Hyattsville, Maryland man was sentenced to two years in prison for his role in a fraudulent tax refund scheme.

Norman D. West, 48, operated a tax preparation business known as ‘Flash Cash Financial’ or ‘Flash Cash’ in Baltimore, Maryland. From August 2011 to January 2013, West and his co-conspirators obtained the personal information of ‘recruits’ and used it to file false tax returns, generating a total of $408,221.30 in fraudulent refunds.

The refunds were deposited into bank accounts opened by West in the name of Flash Cash, and West paid a small portion of the refunds to the recruits, usually around $500. The rest was kept by West and his co-conspirators.

West was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow, who also ordered him to pay restitution of $408,221.30, the total amount of the tax loss. West will also serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

The investigation into the scheme was conducted by the IRS-CI, the Washington, D.C. Office of the Chief Financial Officer, the Office of Tax and Revenue, Criminal Investigation Division, and the U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen O. Gavin.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the agencies involved in the investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Gavin for her work on the case.

West’s plea agreement stated that he used the personal information of at least 197 individuals to file false tax returns, claiming false wages, educational tax credits, and earned income tax credit. The scheme generated 197 federal tax returns that claimed $391,553 in fraudulent tax refunds, as well as 28 fraudulent returns with the District of Columbia, which generated an additional $16,668.30 in fraudulent refunds.

The sentencing of Norman D. West serves as a reminder of the importance of protecting taxpayer dollars from those who would seek to defraud the government.

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