Springfield man pleads to 29 counts in fraud case

PHILADELPHIA >> A Springfield man federally charged under a 2015 indictment alleging wire fraud and identity theft in an elaborate false tax preparation scheme has pled guilty to all 29 counts against him.

Mohamed Mansaray, 41, will be sentenced in Philadelphia June 8 before U.S. District Judge Legrome Davis of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania pending a pre-sentence investigation, according to court documents.

Prosecutors say Mansaray operated several businesses out of offices located on Woodland Avenue in Philadelphia and on Garrett Road in Upper Darby, among other locations, including “Your Tax Professionals” and “New Solution Tax Services.”

From at least December 2013 through May 2015, he prepared and filed federal income tax returns for clients that included the names and Social Security numbers of nonexistent children, which often netted returns of more than $5,000 for clients, according to the indictment.

Mansaray charged clients $800 to $1,000 to add a dependent to the tax returns, which he filed electronically. Prosecutors say the clients wrongly received a tax exemption for each false dependent, as well as a child tax credit, a child and dependent care credit and an credit.

In order to avoid detection from the IRS, Mansaray filed the returns using tax preparer identification numbers issued in the names of other individuals, including two people known to the grand jury, according to the indictment.

This earned is income Mansaray’s tax second conviction in a tax preparation scheme. He pleaded guilty in July 2014 to conspiracy and 13 counts of aiding or assisting in preparing or filing false income tax returns for fraudulently adding dependents to clients’ returns for the tax years 2008 through 2012. Court records do not indicate Mansaray has been sentenced yet in that case.