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The Tax Man: Former LA County Social Worker Sentenced for Tax Fraud

By Jessica P. Ogilvie

Published Jun 26, 2011 11:00 PM

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After filing fraudulent tax returns for 197 people and attempting to collect the refund money for himself, a former social worker for the LA Country Department of Social Services was sentenced today to 46 months in prison. According to a statement issued today by the U.S. Department of Justice, Trang Van Dinh, 63, filled out and sent the returns to the Internal Revenue Service using names and social security numbers to which he had access from his work with the DSS. He requested, in total, $2,212,996 in refunds. He was able to access $667,034 before being found out. Upon trying to file their real tax returns, some of Dinh's victims were told that they had already filed. Dinh will begin serving his sentence on July 18, and must pay the $667,034 back to the IRS. In the same statement, Marcus E. Williams, acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation, said: “Today’s sentencing is a victory for the integrity of our tax system.”