California Resident Convicted Of Tax Crimes

A jury in the Northern District of California convicted Jyh-Chau “Henry” Horng, of Saratoga, California and part owner of a home-based international trading business, yesterday on two counts of filing false tax returns and one count of making false statements to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent while under audit, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting United States Attorney Alex G. Tse for the Northern District of California. The jury acquitted Horng’s wife, Meili Lin, on one count of filing a false tax return and failed to reach a verdict on the second count.

According to court documents and evidence presented during the three-week trial, Horng underreported income on his 2006 and 2007 tax returns.  The returns failed to report profits from selling metal products to China while that country was undergoing its economic and infrastructure boom.  Horng used these business profits to buy millions of dollars of residential properties, invest over $5 million in a Milpitas shopping center, and purchase a Bentley.  Horng also reported annual income of over $1 million on a mortgage application, despite reporting far less than that on the tax returns he filed with the IRS.  During an IRS audit of the returns, Horng made numerous false statements, including that neither he nor his wife had any foreign bank accounts.

Horng faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison for each false tax return.  He could be sentenced to an additional five years for lying to the IRS auditor.  He is also subject to a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. 

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and Acting United States Attorney Tse thanked IRS Special Agents Maria Martinez and Cheryl Parker for their work on the investigation, Assistant United States Attorney Michael Pitman and Trial Attorney Christopher Magnani for prosecuting the case, and Paralegal Specialist Jonathan Deville for his assistance during the trial. 

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.