Des Moines, Iowa – A federal grand jury in Des Moines returned an indictment on October 18, 2022, charging an Ottumwa man and woman with sixty fraud and tax charges.
As alleged in the indictment, Thein Maung (also known as Joseph Ramarn), age 47, and his daughter, Phyo Mi (also known as Phyo Ramarn), age 20, conspired to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by preparing and filing hundreds of fraudulent tax returns. Maung and Mi provided tax-preparation services out of their family’s home in Ottumwa. Their customers primarily were immigrants who had little or no ability to read, write, or speak English.
The indictment also alleges that Maung and Mi would prepare their customers’ tax returns in exchange for a cash fee. Maung and Mi acted as “ghost preparers,” meaning that they did not sign their clients’ tax returns when they prepared and filed them. Without their customers’ knowledge or approval, Maung and Mi often included on their customers’ federal tax returns, schedules, and forms, fraudulent items, such as false claims for residential energy credits, business-expense deductions, or moving-expense deductions. The effect of Maung and Mi including fraudulent items on the tax documents was to increase the refunds their clients received and increase Maung and Mi’s customer base.
In addition, it is alleged that Maung and Mi engaged in wire fraud by directing that portions of their customers’ fraudulent refunds be deposited into financial…