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PORTLAND, Ore.—Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, announced today that a local woman has been indicted for a tax fraud scheme targeting Somali refugees in the Portland Metropolitan Area.
Rukia Mohamed, 35, a resident of Portland, has been charged with thirteen counts of making false statements by willfully aiding and assisting individual taxpayers to submit false or fraudulent tax returns claiming tax credits for which the taxpayers were ineligible. Mohamed is also charged with three counts of filing false tax returns for her own taxes.
The indictment alleges that from 2014-2017, Mohamed claimed more than $1 million in false tax credits on behalf of ineligible taxpayers.
“We encourage members of the public to carefully evaluate those from whom they take tax or other financial advice from,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “We are aware of fraudulent tax preparers targeting refugee communities in the Portland area and are working closely with the IRS to investigate these crimes and bring those responsible to justice.”
Mohamed was released pending a three-day jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon.
This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Michelle Kerin, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
If you or someone you know have information about tax preparers you believe are engaged in fraudulent activity, please complete IRS Form #3949-A, print it and mail it to: IRS-Criminal Investigation, 1220 SW Third Avenue, G044 M/S 0326, Portland, Oregon 97204.
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