Mililani Businesswoman Pleads Guilty To Filing False Tax Return

HONOLULU – Amalia Ralar, age 43, of Mililani, Hawaii, doing business as Muscle Inc., pleaded guilty in federal court on September 26 to filing a false tax return for the year 2012. At sentencing, scheduled for January 12, 2017, before Senior District Judge Helen Gillmor, Ralar faces a maximum three-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $250,000.

Florence T. Nakakuni, United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that according to court documents, Ralar filed a Form 1040 tax return for 2012 that claimed tax due and owing of only $10,872 based on $50,672 in taxable income. In fact, Ralar’s actual income for 2012 was $380,364, which would have resulted in tax of $112,703. As a result, Ralar under-reported her tax for 2012 by $101,831.

Moreover, according to information produced to the court, Ralar agreed that the tax returns she filed for the years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2014 were also not true and accurate returns. Ralar excluded income from her business operations, resulting in total unpaid tax from 2007 to 2014 of $354,511. Ralar stipulated that she owes that amount in restitution to the IRS. While Ralar’s guilty plea is specifically for the 2012 tax year, her sentencing will be based on the aggregate amount of the loss from all of the years she filed false returns.

The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division (IRS CI) led the investigation. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ken Sorenson and Larry Tong.