Date: Jan. 18, 2024 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a federal grand jury has indicted a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man for 23 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of a false and fraudulent return and 23 counts of wire fraud. Amon Eustache Aboua was indicted in January of 2024. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on Jan. 16, 2024, and pleaded not guilty to the Indictment. The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 20 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and up to $4,600 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered. The Indictment alleges that Aboua is the owner of African Communities United, d/b/a ACU Tax Services. Between Feb. 2, 2018, and April 2, 2019, Aboua prepared false U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns and submitted them to the IRS for several taxpayers. Those returns were false in that the returns represented that the taxpayers were entitled to claim deductions when, in fact, they were not. Aboua submitted those tax returns electronically and caused fraudulently-inflated refunds, which unjustly enriched Aboua. The charges are merely accusations and Aboua is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The investigation is being conducted by the IRS. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman is prosecuting the case. Aboua was released on bond pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
