The Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, is frustrated with a Virginia man’s attempts to dodge them over false tax returns and is stepping up collection efforts through court action.
Omini Tete Riman, of Woodbridge, allegedly filed false tax returns in 2013 and 2014, and claimed he had no income over a five-year span from 2018 to 2023.
A federal grand jury in Alexandria returned an indictment this week charging Riman with obstructing the IRS and willfully failing to file tax returns.
According to the indictment, Riman, was an information technology specialist and reported that he earned nearly $2 million in income and had almost $1 million withheld in taxes in 2013 and 2014. Based on those false statements, Riman allegedly claimed nearly $400,000 in refunds from the IRS.
The indictment states that starting in 2016, after notifying Riman about his outstanding tax liabilities, the IRS attempted to recover the funds from him.
Riman allegedly took numerous steps to frustrate the IRS’s collection efforts. It is alleged he transferred his property to a trust, opened bank accounts in the trust’s name and directed that his wages be deposited into the trust’s bank account. It is further alleged that he also submitted false documents to the IRS which purported to show that an IRS employee owed him money, and Riman had canceled the debt, which, if accurate, would have caused the IRS employee’s own tax liability to increase.
The indictment also alleges that for tax years 2018 through 2023, Riman knew he was legally required to file tax returns but willfully did not do so timely.
After being notified that he was the target of a grand jury investigation this year, Riman filed tax returns for 2017 through 2020 which falsely reported that he had earned no income during those years.
If convicted, Riman faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of obstructing the IRS and a maximum penalty of one year in prison for each count of failing to file a tax return.
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Crystal Graham
