SEATTLE — A 58-year-old Pacific man faces up to three years in prison after he was convicted on 14 counts of aiding and abetting the filing of false tax returns.
A federal jury found Jean Mpouli guilty on Wednesday, Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman said in a press release.
Mpouli worked for as an inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration for 25 years but ran a tax preparation business on the side, Gorman said. Prosecutors said he falsely increased deductions for unreimbursed business expenses and educational expenses to boost his clients’ tax returns.
He took a percentage of the refund as his fee, so the higher the refund, the greater the fee, Gorman said. He hid more than $200,000 of revenue generated from this illegal side business when he filed his own tax return, Gorman said.
He’s scheduled to be sentenced on January 11, 2022.
