Washington, D.C. - United States Attorney Roscoe C. Howard, Jr. and Gregory R. Szczeszek, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, jointly announced that Duke Amir, 66, a resident of the District of Columbia who formerly operated the tax preparation service known as the D.C. Tax Center, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to one count of preparing false federal income tax returns. Amir is scheduled to be sentenced by the Honorable Gladys Kessler on April 13, 2004. At sentencing, Amir faces a maximum term of imprisonment of three years, a fine of $250,000 and an order of restitution.

According to the government's evidence, during tax years 1998, 1999 and 2000, Duke Amir engaged in a scheme to defraud the United States and the Internal Revenue Service by preparing and filing false federal income tax returns for clients in the metropolitan D.C. area. Amir primarily employed two schemes to fraudulently reduce his client's tax liability and obtain refunds for clients to which they were not entitled. First, Amir prepared Schedule A Forms with false itemized deductions which had the effect of reducing the adjusted gross income for those clients. Amir often would fabricate and claim on client tax returns non-existent gifts to charity, job related expenses, or medical and dental expenses. Second, Amir prepared Schedule C Forms for client returns with false business expenses and gross receipts which netted out to business losses that had the effect of fraudulently reducing the total income and ultimately total tax for clients. The clients neither provided Amir with documentation reflecting these fraudulent business expenses and gross receipts, nor informed him of such expenses or revenues. Indeed, several clients informed Amir that they did not operate businesses. Others informed Amir that the activities he wanted to characterize as businesses in their returns were in reality merely hobbies. Amir falsely assured clients that losses he calculated for these activities could be netted against income on their returns.

The total federal tax loss resulting from the conduct admitted to by Amir was at least $204,330.43.

In announcing the guilty plea, United States Attorney Howard and Special Agent in Charge Szczeszek commended IRS Special Agents Richard Marion and Dorethia Wood Brown for their outstanding work in investigating the case. They also praised Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan R. Barr, who investigated and prosecuted this matter, and Legal Assistants April Peeler and Lisa Robinson who assisted in the investigation and prosecution.