Las Vegas Tax Preparer Sentenced to 38 Months in Federal Prison in $5 Million IRS Refund Fraud Scheme

LAS VEGAS, NV — A Las Vegas tax preparer was sentenced Wednesday to 38 months in federal prison for conspiring to defraud the United States by filing hundreds of fraudulent tax returns and siphoning more than $1.1 million in illicit refunds directly into personal accounts.

The sentencing of Ivan Odiaga was announced Wednesday, October 21, 2026, by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada and the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division.

According to federal court filings, Odiaga operated through Silver State Tax & Multiservices LLC alongside his mother, Iris Hondermann.

Between 2017 and 2021, the pair orchestrated an extensive tax fraud scheme by preparing and filing false client returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), claiming more than $5 million in refunds to which their clients were never entitled.

In addition to fabricating deductions and credits to artificially inflate payouts, Odiaga and Hondermann routinely diverted substantial portions of the proceeds to themselves, routing over $1.1 million in stolen refunds into bank accounts they controlled.

+--------------------------------------------------------+
|          FEDERAL TAX REFUND FRAUD DOSSIER              |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
|  - Prosecuting Entities: U.S. Attorney's Office,       |
|    District of Nevada & DOJ Fraud Division             |
|  - Investigating Agency: IRS Criminal Investigation    |
|  - Defendant: Ivan Odiaga (Las Vegas, Nevada)          |
|  - Business Entity: Silver State Tax & Multiservices   |
|  - Sentence Imposed: 38 Months in Federal Prison       |
|  - Co-Conspirator: Iris Hondermann (Mother; Currently  |
|    Serving 30-Month Federal Prison Sentence)           |
|  - Scheme Timeline: 2017 through 2021 Tax Years        |
|  - Total Fraudulent Claims: Over $5,000,000 to IRS     |
|  - Funds Siphoned to Personal Accounts: Over $1,100,000|
|  - Preparer Misconduct: Stole Another Professional's   |
|    Preparer Tax ID Number (PTIN) on ~279 Returns       |
|  - Statutory Charge: 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to    |
|    Defraud the United States)                          |
+--------------------------------------------------------+

Fabricated Credits and Stolen Preparer Identifiers

Federal prosecutors revealed that the scheme relied on filing returns packed with fictitious business expenses, false business profits and losses, fraudulent residential energy credits, and fabricated COVID-19 sick and family leave provisions.

To conceal the true volume of his filings, Odiaga went so far as to steal the Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) of an unrelated, legitimate tax professional without consent.

Odiaga used the stolen PTIN to submit approximately 279 false tax returns, even continuing the practice after receiving written compliance warnings from the IRS directing him to stop.

Clients were frequently kept in the dark regarding the inflated amounts claimed on their behalf or that portions of their expected refunds were systematically siphoned directly into the defendants’ private accounts.

Hondermann previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and is currently serving a 30-month federal prison term.

Odiaga also entered a guilty plea prior to Wednesday’s formal sentencing.

+--------------------------------------------------------+
|             FEDERAL ENFORCEMENT BENCHMARKS             |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
|  • Treasury Defense: Federal task forces intensifying  |
|    audits on storefront and "ghost" tax preparers      |
|  • Restitution Order: Mandatory restitution mandates   |
|    imposed to repay siphoned funds to the IRS          |
|  • Client Exposure: Taxpayers reminded to verify PTIN |
|    signatures and never route returns to preparer banks|
+--------------------------------------------------------+

“This office has zero tolerance for corrupt tax professionals who treat the U.S. Treasury like their personal slush fund and prey on innocent taxpayers,” stated First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada. “If you scheme to defraud the government and steal from your clients, we will hunt you down, dismantle your operation, and ensure you face hard time in federal prison.”

The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and prosecuted by Trial Attorney Stuart A. Wexler of the National Fraud Enforcement Division’s Tax Section.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs Dispatches, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada (Published Oct. 21, 2026), IRS Criminal Investigation Records.