Provo accounting firm charged in $11M COVID-19 tax fraud scheme
Feb 22, 2023, 1:09 PM
A federal grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday charging two Utah County men and an accounting firm with claiming an excess of $11 million in tax credits through a COVID-related fraud scheme. (Scott G Winteron, Deseret News)
(Scott G Winteron, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Feb. 1 charging two Utah County men and an accounting firm with claiming an excess of $11 million in tax credits through a COVID-related fraud scheme.
Zachary Bassett, 39, of Provo, and Mason Warr, 37, of Vineyard, are both charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S., wire fraud and filing false tax returns, district court records show.
Additionally, Provo-based COS Accounting & Tax LLC, doing business as 1099 Tax Pros, is facing the same charges.
According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Basset, Warr and COS Accounting submitted more than a thousand tax forms to the IRS, claiming in excess of $11 million in fraudulent employee retention credits and sick and family leave wages credits for the firm’s clients.
The scheme took place from at least April 2020 through at least August 2021, the news release states. If convicted, the defendants will forfeit any property derived from proceeds traceable to the scheme, it continues.
The employee retention tax credits are part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act enacted in March 2020 and are designed to help businesses keep employees on their payroll, according to the news release.
Additionally, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act requires certain employers to provide employees with paid sick leave of up to 80 hours and expanded family and medical leave of up to 10 weeks for reasons related to COVID-19. The legislation provides refundable tax credits that reimburse employers for the cost of providing these sick and family leave wages, the news release states.
“During the pandemic, the defendants allegedly took advantage of a program intended to provide critical relief for businesses impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak,” IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Albert Childress said in the news release. “IRS (Criminal Investigation) is committed to bringing justice to those who have exploited the pandemic for personal gain and have stolen from America’s taxpayers.”
The defendants’ initial court appearance is scheduled for Monday, district court records show.
