A Maryland man has been charged with COVID-19 relief fraud and tax-related offenses, according to an indictment unsealed on Monday. Vince Akins of Ellicott City is accused of failing to file a tax return and not paying required employment taxes.
The indictment claims that Akins owned several transportation companies servicing federal agencies, though all but one ceased operations. Despite this, he allegedly withheld Social Security, Medicare, and income taxes from employee wages without remitting the full amounts to the IRS between 2019 and 2022.
In 2020, Akins purportedly submitted four Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications using falsified IRS documents for his defunct businesses. He reportedly received $387,220 in fraudulent loans which were forgiven. He then laundered about $151,000 by transferring it to personal accounts in Nigeria. Additionally, Akins is accused of not filing a personal tax return for 2020 as required by law.
Akins faces charges including bank fraud, money laundering, employment tax violations, and failure to file a tax return. If convicted, potential penalties include up to 30 years for each bank fraud charge, up to 10 years for each money laundering charge, five years per employment tax violation, and one year for not filing a return. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutory factors.
The announcement was made by Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
The investigation is being conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation.
Trial Attorneys Shawn Noud and Joseph D.G. Castro from the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
It is important to note that an indictment is merely an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court beyond a reasonable doubt.