After entering a guilty plea and waiver of indictment, a 36-year-old male, citizen of Federated States of Micronesia was released from custody and was ordered to appear before the District Court of Guam on January 4 next year.
Oichy Rouk, on September 30 was charged with one count of Making and Subscribing a False Tax Return, Statement or Document. The case information states that from on or about May 1, 2011 through March 1, 2014, Rouk filed by electronic means Individual Income tax returns and Forms 1040As and 1040s for tax years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 with falsified information. Rouk, among other things, falsely claimed that he and his spouse resided in Hawaii and worked in Hawaii for tax years 2010 and 2011. For tax years 2012 and 2013, he falsely claimed that they resided in Washington. The false declarations were with the intent to earn federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC) and federal Child Tax Credit (CTC), to which he fully well knew he is not qualified for. Rouk, the Information states, caused a tax loss of $30,352 to the United States IRS.
Rouk, on same dated, entered a Plea Agreement, admitting to the crime he was charged.
The offense carries a maximum penalty of 3 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, one year supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Rouk also agreed to make restitution in the amount of at least $30,352 to the IRS.
His pleading guilty also may have consequences on his immigration status, as the offense he is pleading guilty of is a removable offense. His guilty plea and conviction “make it practically inevitable and a virtual certainty that he will be removed from the United States,” but which are subjects of a separate proceeding,” court document states.
Court documents explained that Guam has its own tax system, based on same tax laws and tax rates that apply to the United States. Residents of Guam who earned income on Guam are required to file their income tax returns with GovGuam’s Department of Revenue and Taxation.
The EIC is a refundable federal income tax credit that is only available to qualifying low-income taxpayers who filed their income tax returns with the IRS. If the EIC amount exceeded the taxpayer’s liability, the remaining EIC will be refunded to the taxpayer. A qualified taxpayer will receive a larger tax refund by claiming the EIC. To qualify for EIC, the taxpayer must have earned income from self-employment.
A taxpayer with qualifying child may receive larger EIC. A qualifying child must have resided in the United States and has lived with the taxpayer for more than one-half of such tax year.
The federal CTC on the other hand is a credit available to taxpayers who have qualifying child within a family. To qualify for CTC, the taxpayer’s children must, among others, under age 17, lived with the taxpayer for more than half of the of year, be claimed as dependent on the taxpayer’s return, and must be a US citizen, national, or resident alien.
However, residents of Guam who earned income on Guam were required to file their income tax returns with the Department of Revenue and Taxation are not eligible to claim the federal EIC, CTC, and receive tax refunds from the IRS.
Rouk, from years 2011 to 2014, prepared and filed on his and his spouse’s behalf with the IRS. The filing status on the forms was “Married Filing Jointly.” All returns claimed the EIC and CTC which falsely inflated the tax refunds. All the returns also used a false Hawaii and Washington addresses to make them eligible for income tax refunds, which he knew he and his spouse is not entitled to. He knew that a Guam address would have caused any electronically filed tax return to be rejected and not processed by the IRS.
On October 6, Rouk was released subject to the following conditions: He must not violate federal, state, or local law while on release. Must cooperate in the collection of DNA sample if necessary. Must advise the court in writing if changing address or telephone number. Must appear in court if required, and if convicted, must surrender to serve a sentence. Must sign an Appearance bond if ordered.
He is also to submit to supervision to US Probation office, surrender passport to US Probation office, not obtain passport or other international travel document, remain at a fixed address and not change address without approval of the US Probation Office, and not leave Guam without permission of the court. He is also not allowed to use alcohol or drugs, possess any firearm or any destructive weapon, and report every contact with law enforcement./The Junction News Team.
