Suburban Chicago accountant pleads guilty to evading $3.4M in taxes

CHICAGO - A suburban Chicago accountant pleaded guilty on Thursday to avoiding paying over $3.4 million in federal and state income taxes.

Imran Mahmood, a certified public accountant, provided accounting services to an Illinois not-for-profit organization and an associated company. Prosecutors say that between 2011 and 2014, Mahmood acquired more than $9 million from these entities, primarily from the payroll accounts of the not-for-profit organization, and deposited the funds into an entity he controlled. He then used the funds for personal expenses.

To conceal the scheme, Mahmood misrepresented payments in the books and records of the entities he got the money from. Although Mahmood hired a tax professional to aid in filing his income tax returns, he failed to disclose all received funds and his ownership of the receiving entity, which resulted in false tax returns being filed for the years 2011 to 2014.

Mahmood, 56, of South Barrington, admitted in his plea agreement that his actions resulted in a tax loss for the feds and state of about $3,468,523. The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

He will be sentenced on June 11, 2024.