Vegas Tax Cheat Craig Gets a Year Behind Bars

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – William Pamintuan Craig, 60, is trading tax forms for prison stripes after a federal judge handed down a 12-month-and-one-day sentence today. Craig, a Las Vegas tax preparer, pleaded guilty to cooking the books – both his own and those of his clients – and now faces the consequences. U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon also ordered a year of supervised release and hefty restitution.

The scheme, which ran from at least 2012, involved inflating deductions on client returns and conveniently “forgetting” to report income – or inventing expenses – on his own. According to court documents, Craig operated a tax preparation business in Las Vegas while simultaneously robbing the U.S. Treasury. The total damage? A cool $265,000 in losses to the IRS.

The feds say Craig concealed revenue from his tax business, claiming bogus work expenses to slash his own tax bill. Over the tax years 2012 to 2017, he underreported a staggering $439,000 in taxable income, resulting in a $143,237 loss for the IRS. But he didn’t stop there. Craig also extended his fraudulent reach to his clients, falsely claiming deductions on their returns.

Between 2012 and 2017, Craig caused at least another $128,000 in tax loss by filing bogus returns for unsuspecting clients. It’s a classic case of the fox guarding the henhouse – a so-called professional exploiting the trust of his customers to line his own pockets. The jig was up when IRS-Criminal Investigation started digging.

U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich of the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Tara Sullivan of the IRS-Criminal Investigation announced the sentencing, signaling a clear message: messing with the IRS will land you in federal prison. The court ordered Craig to pay $143,237 in restitution to the IRS, a small consolation for the damage he caused.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Lopez prosecuted the case. If you suspect a tax preparer is engaging in similar shady practices, the IRS wants to know. You can file a Return Preparer Complaint form with the IRS or visit https://www.irs.gov/ to report suspected tax fraud. Don’t let another Craig bleed the system dry.