Las Vegas Tax Business Owner Indicted For Wire Fraud, Money Laundering, And Aggravated Identity Theft

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A North Las Vegas man who operated two tax preparation businesses was arrested last night and appeared in federal court today for devising a fraud scheme to fraudulently obtain and launder millions of dollars from the sale of his businesses, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich for the District of Nevada.

King Isaac Umoren, 38, was indicted for six counts of wire fraud, five counts of aggravated identity theft, and five counts of money laundering. He was arrested and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe. An arraignment has been scheduled for March 26, 2019.

As alleged in the indictment, from on or about May 2016 to May 2018, Umoren devised a scheme to defraud and to obtain money and property from a prospective buyer, and the buyer of his tax preparation business, Universal Tax Services, by fraudulently misrepresenting that the business had a vastly greater client base and annual revenue than it actually did. In furtherance of the scheme, Umoren provided the victims fraudulent bank and financial statements, personal income tax returns, and assorted financial records. The bank statements and financial records provided to the victims had been forged to reflect millions of dollars on deposit when in fact the accounts held little or no money. And the income tax returns showing Umoren earning millions of dollars through the business also were forgeries. Umoren never filed with the Internal Revenue Service in tax years 2014 and 2015. Umoren also stole client information from unrelated tax preparation businesses, including the names, social security numbers, and confidential taxpayer information of those businesses’ clients. In August 2017, as a result of the scheme, Umoren was able to fraudulently sell the business to one of the victims for $6.7 million, of which he received approximately $4,050,000.

At the time of sentencing, the maximum statutory penalty is $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss caused by the offense. The indictment seeks a criminal forfeiture judgment of at least $4,050,000, including amounts of $1,999,875; $888,855.17; $192,325; and $97,807.75 seized from various bank accounts, as well as real property located in Henderson, Nevada, and a 2018 Honda Accord sedan.

Umoren is also currently pending trial in a separate 2016 federal case where he is alleged to have stolen refund money from his tax preparation clients, impersonated an FBI agent, and possessed a firearm while being a prohibited person. 

An indictment is merely a charge and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case was investigated by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Burns and Trial Attorney Sarah Kiewlicz of the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division.