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August 29, 2003
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced that Raymond Francis Hill was indicted yesterday on 15 counts of assisting and advising in the preparation and presentation to the Internal Revenue Service of false and fraudulent U.S. individual income tax returns (1040 and 1040X), and of two counts of mail fraud. Mr. Hill was indicted yesterday afternoon by a federal grand jury in Oakland in connection with a scheme to submit falsified tax returns to the IRS seeking refunds.
According to the indictment, Mr. Hill is alleged to have devised a scheme between August 13, 1997, and May 25, 1999 to defraud his clients. Specifically, Mr. Hill is alleged to have told his clients that they would not have to pay taxes. Mr. Hill is alleged to have prepared and signed returns in which his clients' income is listed as zero when he knew that they had actual income which should have been reported. Mr. Hill is alleged to have held himself out as a Certified Public Accountant and a former employee of the Internal Revenue Service, when he, in fact, had never been either. He is alleged to have made these false representations to people in order to persuade them to provide money to him to prepare tax returns and amended income tax returns.
The maximum statutory penalty for each aiding and assisting count in violation of 26 U.S.C. Section 7206(2) is three years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The maximum statutory penalty for each count of mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 1341, is up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution. However, any sentence following conviction would be dictated by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of factors, and would be imposed in the discretion of the Court. An indictment simply contains allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, Mr. Hill must be presumed innocent unless and until convicted.
Mr. Hill is scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court in Oakland on September 17, 2003 before Magistrate Judge Wayne Brazil.
The prosecution is the result of a lengthy investigation by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation special agents and the US Attorney's office. AUSA Thomas Moore is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kathy Tat.
A copy of this press release and related court documents may be found on the U.S. Attorney's website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.
All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Jacobs at (415)436-7181.
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