Date: March 19, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
DENVER ¡ª The U.S. Attorney¡¯s Office for the District of Colorado announces Thuan Bui of Littleton, Colorado, was sentenced to the statutory maximum of 36 months in federal prison, one year of supervised release, and a $50,000 fine, after pleading guilty to one count of aiding or assisting in preparation of false documents.
According to the plea agreement, from about 2016 to 2021, Bui operated a tax preparation business that operated under several names. Bui falsely told his clients he was a certified public accountant. During that time, and on hundreds of tax returns, Bui understated his clients¡¯ tax liability by overstating or falsely creating expenses on the Schedule C form which is used to report income or loss on a business.
¡°This defendant willfully and repeatedly abused his clients¡¯ trust when his job was to help them accurately file their annual tax returns,¡± said Acting United States Attorney J. Bishop Grewell. ¡°I encourage all taxpayers to be vigilant during the ongoing tax season to make sure their information is captured and reported accurately.¡±
¡°Tax preparers are entrusted to file accurate and truthful tax returns on behalf of their clients to ensure they are meeting their tax obligations,¡± said Amanda Prestegard, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation Denver Field Office (IRS-CI). ¡°Bui violated that trust and federal tax laws in the process. Identifying these fraudulent preparers remains a top priority for IRS-CI and we will continue holding them accountable.¡±
United States District Court Judge Regina M. Rodriguez presided over the sentencing.
The case was investigated by IRS-CI. Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca Weber handled the prosecution.
IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attach¨¦ posts abroad.