Kenyan man jailed for tax fraud in America
Hophine Bwosinde, a Kenyan living in the US, is facing three years in prison for aiding some people to defraud the government of $1.5 million (Sh193.5 million) in tax returns.
A criminal court in Kansas, United States of America, has sentenced a Kenyan citizen to three years’ imprisonment for tax fraud.
Hophine Bwosinde, originally from Nyamira County, was ordered to serve 36 months in a federal prison after filing false income tax returns for his clients, conduct that caused the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), America’s tax-collecting authority, to lose nearly Sh200 million, the equivalent of USD 1.5 million.
According to court documents in Kansas, Mr Bwosinde who lived in the affluent Lenexa suburb, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent statements.
Records show that between 2018 and 2022, Mr Bwosinde used his tax preparation business, Amboseli, to file fraudulent returns on behalf of clients. Prosecutors accused him of leveraging his professional expertise to inflate legitimate business expenses or claim losses linked to fictitious enterprises.
He also allegedly falsified negative incomes on clients’ returns, enabling them either to claim undeserved tax refunds or evade paying taxes owed to the US government.
The government argued that, through these schemes, Mr Bwosinde helped clients conceal their true incomes by significantly underreporting them to the IRS.
“Bwosinde helped his clients either reduce the taxes they owed or obtain refunds for which they were not entitled,” authorities stated.
His conviction followed extensive criminal investigations conducted by IRS agents. After the inquiry concluded, the case was handed to former Trial Attorney Erika V. Suhr of the Tax Division and Assistant US Attorney Ryan Huschka for the District of Kansas, who successfully prosecuted the matter.
A number of Kenyans living in Kansas have, in the past, found themselves on the wrong side of the law over financial crimes. Mr Bwosinde, however, stood out, once regarded as a community leader in the greater Kansas City area nearly two decades ago. He was seen as a role model, guiding immigrant communities across Kansas and Missouri.
He was particularly vocal in advising newly arrived Kenyans to respect American law, avoid trouble and refrain from “importing Kenya’s bad manners” - a reference to lawlessness - into the United States, where the consequences for wrongdoing are severe.
In 2006, several Kenyans in the region were convicted of various offences, including identity theft, fraud and crimes targeting senior citizens.
Ironically, some Kenyans convicted of serious crimes in the US have later returned home to assume senior political roles. This contrast, between the strict enforcement of the law in the US and Kenya’s seeming tolerance of criminal backgrounds, has tarnished the country’s image in the eyes of the international community.
In the United States, the IRS Criminal Investigation division (IRS-CI) is the specialised law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for probing financial crimes ranging from tax fraud and money laundering to narcotics trafficking, healthcare fraud, public corruption and identity theft.
The IRS noted in its report on Mr Bwosinde’s sentencing:
“IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, achieving a 90 per cent federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices across the US and 14 attaché posts abroad.”
The IRS also confirmed that Mr Bwosinde’s imprisonment followed his own guilty plea.
