Ventura County Tax Preparer Sentenced to More Than 2 Years in Federal Prison for Filing More Than 1,700 False Returns

LOS ANGELES - A Thousand Oaks tax preparer was sentenced today to 27 months in federal prison for filing more than 1,700 false tax returns for her clients.

Ann Quach, 50, was sentenced by United States District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett, who also ordered her to pay $6,481,731 in restitution.

Quach pleaded guilty on February 18 to one count of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns for the clients of her business AQ Financial, also known as A2Z Tax Solutions. She also pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

From 2011 to 2024, Quach prepared 1,734 Form 1040 returns resulting in the multi-million losses to the United States Treasury.

She included made-up losses for fake businesses that didn't exist and used those fictitious losses to offset her client's income. Quach also frequently included false deductions for medical expenses and charitable contributions.

These false entries on the tax returns fraudulently reduced the taxes the clients owed - often to the point of generating refunds. Quach collected substantial fees from her satisfied clients, many of whom returned year after year.

"Tax fraud is a serious crime that corrodes the foundation of a functional society," prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. "[Quach's] tax fraud was serious. It was not committed because of a brief lapse in judgment. For years, [Quach] used her tax expertise to help clients evade tax on their income, causing significant losses to the U.S. Treasury."

IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this case.

Assistant United States Attorney Ranee A. Katzenstein and Matthew R. Hoffman of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, Tax Section, prosecuted this case.