Source: United States Attorneys General
Headline: Olney Man Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact ELIZABETH MORSE
www.justice.gov/usao/md at (410) 209-4885
Greenbelt, Maryland – Mehlek Dawveed, age 51, of Olney, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud stemming from the filing of fraudulent tax returns, in which he received one fraudulent refund of more than $970,000.
The guilty plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; and Special Agent in Charge Kimberly Lappin of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.
According to his plea agreement, from 2011 through 2014 Dawveed filed fraudulent Income Tax Returns for 2010 and 2011 that resulted in him receiving a refund in the amount of $977,558. Upon receipt of the funds, Dawveed wired the money from a bank in Kansas City, Missouri to his account in Maryland.
Using part of the fraudulently obtained funds, Dawveed paid the remaining $83,837 balance on the mortgage for his residence in Olney, Maryland and deposited a $250,000 check into a bank account controlled by Dawveed’s wife. Dawveed wrote several other checks into accounts controlled by him or close associates and wrote checks to various individuals and family members and for his own personal expenses.
On February 18, 2012, Dawveed filed a fraudulent Income Tax Return for 2011 in which he requested a refund in the amount of $1,324,961. This falsely requested refund was not issued. On February 27, 2012, Dawveed then filed a 2010 Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, where he changed his taxable interest income from $1,486,902 to $0 and stated: “we now beckon you to accept our humblest apology for the ‘Unintentional Errors’ made during our 1040 filing for Tax Year 2010 for they were not done with ‘Malicious Intent.’” The form falsely stated: “In ‘Good Faith’ we submitted a Payment of $5,000,000 Million Dollars to the IRS on January 31, 2012 in hopes of settling the remaining ‘Debt’ from our 1040 Tax Filing for Year 2010.” No such $5,000,000 payment was ever made.
As part of the plea agreement, the Court will enter a forfeiture order for the fraudulently received funds as well as his Olney residence, which he paid off with the fraudulent tax refund money.
Dawveed faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel has scheduled sentencing for May 21, 2018 at 2 p.m.
Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the IRS for their work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Kelly O. Hayes and Sean R. Delaney who are prosecuting the case.