Date: November 5, 2021 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Pensacola, FL — Ahmad T. Ismail, of Bonifay, Florida, pled guilty on Wednesday to the subscription and transmission of multiple fraudulent federal income tax returns, announced Jason R. Coody, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. "The United States relies on the payment of taxes to defend our country and maintain its operations," stated Acting United States Attorney Coody. "We remain committed to the investigation and prosecution of those who falsely misrepresent their income – whether by traditional evasion or the filing of fraudulent tax income returns." At his guilty plea, Ismail admitted in federal court that he filed false federal income returns for the years 2017 and 2018. Ismail agreed that he knowingly understated his gross income by thousands of dollars per year by failing to report all the cash payments he received from patients at his medical practice over the course of the two years in question. During the execution of a federal search warrant on his residence in 2020, law enforcement located $39,000 in cash in Ismail's residence along with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash receipts from his practice. The Internal Revenue Service estimates the overall tax loss perpetrated by Ismail to be over $100,000. "We owe it to every American taxpayer to use all lawful means to identify and prosecute those who evade their taxes," said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Brian Payne. "By his own admission, Ismail cheated the U.S. government out of tens of thousands of dollars, and there are consequences for individuals who intentionally conceal income and evade taxes which can include serving time in federal prison and paying back all of the taxes owed with costly penalties and interest." Ismail's sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 20, 2022, at 9 a.m., at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola before the Honorable United States District Judge T.K. Wetherell. Ismail faces up to six years imprisonment for the tax crimes as well as the payment of restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. "FDLE appreciates our federal criminal justice partnerships in keeping those in a position of trust accountable," said Chris Williams, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent in Charge, Pensacola Region. The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Florida. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David L. Goldberg and Kaitlin Weiss. The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation's principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website.
