The proprietor of a defunct Leominster used automotive dealership cashed a virtually $1.4 million IRS refund examine that wasn’t meant for him, federal prosecutors allege.
Jesse El-Ghoul, 31, owned Reasonably priced Motor Group, a single-location dealership that went underwater after which belly-up, leaving him with tax debt because of the U.S. Inside Income Service.
Federal authorities say that El-Ghoul one way or the other obtained an IRS refund examine for $1,344,863 meant for a Canadian firm — whose title is redacted in court docket filings — altered it to look payable to his personal enterprise after which deposited it at a financial institution department throughout the road.
El-Ghoul was arrested final month. On Thursday, a federal grand jury sitting within the U.S. District Courtroom in Boston indicted him on expenses of theft of presidency funds, financial institution fraud, and 4 counts of cash laundering.
An IRS legal investigator says El-Ghoul would have recognized he wasn’t entitled to that refund examine as a result of he had already arrange an installment plan to repay the $6,107 he owed for the 2021 tax yr, “and therefore could not have had a tax refund owed to AFG for the same tax year.” He didn’t file a tax return for his enterprise in 2022, in line with court docket data.
Prosecutors say after depositing the examine, El-Ghoul purchased cashier’s checks for $235,280, $223,591, $202,643, and $425,000 payable to shell corporations and different entities to launder the ill-gotten proceeds.
Courtesy/US District Courtroom
Jesse El-Ghoul, 31, of Leominster
Initially Revealed:
