By Khalida Sarwari
A Saratoga couple is facing a long prison sentence for tax and mortgage fraud recently uncovered by the Internal Revenue Service.
Meili Lin, who also goes by Ally Lin, and Jyh-Chau Horng, who uses the alias Henry Horng, were arrested and arraigned on the charges Tuesday in federal court in San Jose before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a federal grand jury in San Jose indicted Lin and Horng on Jan. 28 for filing false tax returns. In addition, Horng was charged with making false statements to a government agency and making false statements to a federally insured institution. Lin was separately charged with making false statements to a federally insured institution.
According to the indictment, Lin and Horng filed joint federal income tax returns for 2006 and 2007 that underreported their income and did not disclose Lin’s interest in foreign financial accounts in 2006. The indictment further alleges that Horng subsequently made several false statements to an IRS agent regarding the couple’s income and Lin’s foreign accounts. Lin and Horng also allegedly submitted mortgage applications to federally insured lenders that contained inaccurate information.
Lin and Horng’s alleged wrongdoings were uncovered in an investigation by the criminal investigation division of the IRS. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Pitman is prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty for each count of filing a false tax return is three years in prison and a $250,000 fine, while the maximum penalty for making false statements to a government agency is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Each count of making false statements to a federally insured institution carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
The couple’s next scheduled court appearance is on Feb. 13 at 1:30 p.m.
Link: IRS charges Saratoga couple with tax and mortgage fraud
