PRIOR LAKE, Minn. (AP) — A man from Minnesota has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return, according to officials from the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Court documents and statements made in court revealed that Beau Wesley Gensmer of Prior Lake orchestrated a scheme from 2012 to 2018. He assisted in the preparation of 50 false tax returns, which fraudulently claimed inflated tax refunds on behalf of unsuspecting taxpayers.
Gensmer emailed knowingly false information to a tax return preparer in Alaska, including fraudulent business losses and charitable contributions, for each return she prepared. The preparer relied on this information to file the false returns electronically. Gensmer charged his clients a commission of approximately 30% of each fraudulent refund. As a result of his actions, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) suffered a tax loss of at least $3.5 million.
Gensmer is set to be sentenced on May 7 and could face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for wire fraud and three years in prison for assisting in the preparation of a false tax return. In addition, he may also have to serve a period of supervised release, pay restitution, and face monetary penalties. The specific sentence will be determined by U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim for the District of Minnesota, taking into consideration the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Announcing these developments, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger for the District of Minnesota emphasized the seriousness of the case. The IRS Criminal Investigation is currently conducting an investigation into the matter, while trial attorneys Ahmed Almudallal and Dominick Giovanniello from the Justice Department’s Tax Division are handling the prosecution.
In summary, Beau Wesley Gensmer of Prior Lake, Minnesota, has admitted to wire fraud and assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return. Court documents revealed that Gensmer orchestrated a scheme to file false tax returns, resulting in a tax loss of at least $3.5 million for the IRS. Gensmer is awaiting sentencing and faces significant penalties, including possible imprisonment and monetary fines. The IRS Criminal Investigation is actively looking into the case.