Lawrence Appiah-Osei, owner of New Look Enterprise in Alexandria, Virginia, was sentenced to approximately 18 months in federal prison for a scheme from 2017–2020 that fraudulently inflated client tax refunds by fabricating deductions, causing approximately $1.4 million in IRS losses.

New Look Enterprise / Lawrence Appiah-Osei — $1.4 Million Tax Fraud, Alexandria, Virginia (2022)

Outcome: Lawrence Appiah-Osei, owner of New Look Enterprise, a home-based tax preparation business in Alexandria, Virginia, was sentenced to approximately 18 months in federal prison for executing a scheme from 2017 through 2020 that fraudulently inflated client tax refunds by fabricating deductions on their returns, causing approximately $1.4 million in IRS losses.

Lawrence Appiah-Osei operated New Look Enterprise out of his home in Alexandria, Virginia, from at least 2017 through 2020. During this period, Appiah-Osei systematically prepared and filed false federal tax returns for clients that included fabricated deductions designed to reduce clients' taxable income and increase their refunds beyond what they were legitimately entitled to receive. IRS Criminal Investigation estimated the total tax loss from Appiah-Osei's fraudulent returns at approximately $1.4 million.

The case is representative of the common pattern in community tax preparer fraud: a small, home-based or local office operation building a client base on the promise of maximum refunds, using fabricated deductions to deliver results that attract referrals and repeat business from satisfied clients who may not know or care that the returns were fraudulent.

Primary Source: IRS Criminal Investigation — Tax Preparer Sentenced for $1.4M Fraud Scheme