200-Plus Phony Tax Returns Yield $400K in Bogus Refunds: Court

A Hyattsville musician and bogus tax preparer guilty of filing more than 200 fraudulent tax returns that paid out about $400,000 in refunds has been sentenced to two years in prison, according to federal officials.

U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow recently sentenced Norman D. West, 48, of Hyattsville and Washington, D.C., to two years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit theft of public money in connection with a fraudulent tax refund scheme.

Judge Chasanow also ordered West to pay restitution of $408,221.30, the total amount of the tax loss.

The federal plea agreement describes West as a musician who operated a tax preparation business known as Flash Cash Financial or Flash Cash, which had a purported business address in Baltimore.

From August 2011 through January 2013, West and his co-conspirators used the personal information of “recruits” to file false tax returns that generated a fraudulent tax refund. Prosecutors say West relied largely upon word of mouth to market his scheme.

Authorities say West paid a co-conspirator a $100 referral fee per recruit; the identities of at least 197 people were used in the scheme. West made up the rest of the tax return information, listing false wages, falsely claiming educational tax credits, and falsely claiming earned income tax credits.

West filed 197 Maryland federal tax returns that claimed $391,553 in fraudulent tax refunds, all of which was issued by the IRS. In addition, West filed 28 phony returns with the District of Columbia, which generated an additional $16,668.30 in fraudulent refunds.

All of the refunds were deposited in bank accounts opened by West in the name of Flash Cash, authorities said.

Federal authorities say West paid the recruits a small portion of the bogus refunds, usually about $500, and kept the rest for himself and his co-conspirators.