Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017 | 1 p.m.
Three Las Vegas residents have been indicted for allegedly stealing more than $1 million from the Internal Revenue Service, the IRS announced today.
Authorities say Cannedy Trinh and his children Chanh Trinh and Elizabeth Trinh reported fake income amounts in tax filings over a span of six years, from 2007 to 2013, leading to falsely inflated tax withholdings that were given to them by the government.
The indictment alleges the three defendants filed returns for a deceased third child of Cannedy Trinh who died in 2005, three other unnamed people and fake businesses in addition to their own names. They would later send amended returns to the IRS months after tax filing deadlines to increase their refund.
They deposited and transferred the stolen money through a variety of bank and brokerage accounts as well as check-cashing business across the valley, the indictment said. They also concealed funds by using cashier’s checks to exchange for gaming chips at casinos.
Each face charges of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims and multiple charges of theft of government funds, each of which carries up to 10 years in prison.
Chanh Trinh, who also goes by Vincent Trinh, faces additional charges of false claim for a refund, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft for preparing and filing the phony returns, and also doing so under his deceased brother’s name. Those charges carry up to 20 years each in prison, per charge.
