CONTACT: Craig S. Morford
United States Attorney
Eli J. Richardson
Assistant U.S. Attorneys
(615) 736-2124
Nashville, TN – January 17, 2007 – Craig S. Morford, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, announced that Abdi Hassan, 39, formerly of Nashville, Tennessee, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Nashville. The indictment was returned on January 10, 2007, but was sealed until Hassan’s arrest today in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hassan was expected to appear later today in Las Vegas before a federal magistrate judge, who will consider whether Hassan should be released pending further proceedings in the case, which is to be tried in Nashville.
The indictment charges Hassan with 15 counts of filing false claims against the government. According to the indictment, on 15 different occasions between approximately January 17, 2002 and February 3, 2003, Hassan prepared and electronically sent to the Internal Revenue Service federal income tax returns for other individuals that claimed larger refunds than those individuals were entitled to receive. Fourteen of those returns pertained to the 2001 tax year, and one pertained to the 2002 tax year. The indictment alleges that most of the false returns claimed inflated federal income withholdings. One return allegedly also contained a fictitious Form W-2. According to the indictment, Hassan knew that the returns’ claims for refunds were false and fraudulent.
The indictment also alleges that the returns for several individuals fraudulently claimed a credit for contributions to a particular kind of entity known as a community development corporation. The indictment alleges that Hassan knew that in fact none of these individuals were entitled to claim this credit on their return.
Hassan faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 per each count.
This investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli Richardson will represent the government.
Note: An indictment is a form of accusation and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.