An Essex County tax preparer has pleaded guilty to illegally collecting $4.49 million in tax refunds and been sentenced to nearly five years in prison, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Selinger announced Wednesday.
Omar Kartel, 33, of Fairfield, was sentenced to 57 months in prison after pleading guilty Jan. 23 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service.
A relative of Kartel’s, Walid Kartel, 38, of Arizona, was named by prosecutors as a co-conspirator in the case and pleaded guilty to similar charges on May 23, prosecutors said.
“Omar Kartel admitted to engaging in an elaborate scheme to defraud the IRS out of millions of dollars using stolen identities and falsified tax returns,” Selinger said. “Kartel and relatives submitted tax forms and falsely claimed that the taxpayers listed on those forms had earned certain income or won thousands, or in some cases millions, of dollars gambling or the lottery.”
The Khater brothers were accused of conspiring with others to steal identities and submit false tax returns to claim fraudulent tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service.
Prosecutors alleged in court documents that the tax returns showed certain income and thousands of dollars in lottery and gambling winnings. In some cases, authorities said, the Carters falsely reported winnings and then withheld taxes that entitled them to refunds from the IRS.
The Catarses used stolen taxpayer information to file these tax returns and obtain huge tax refunds totaling $4.49 million.
One of the identities used to file the fraudulent tax returns was a client of Omar Kartel, who was incarcerated from 2016 to 2022, according to court documents.
According to court documents, while in prison, Kartel filed tax returns in the names of his former clients in 2018, 2019 and 2020, reporting income of just over $67,000, $1.3 million and $1.5 million, respectively.
Prosecutors alleged that the Carters used a mailbox at a UPS store in West Orange to accept mail addressed to former customers and opened at least three bank accounts in their names.
“Mr. Kartel fully accepts responsibility and deeply regrets his actions,” Omar’s lawyer, Robert Scriven, said Wednesday. “He is committed to moving forward in a positive manner.”
Walid’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Matthew Enuko can be contacted at menuco@njadvancemedia.com. to follow Matt on X
