A Randolph businesswoman was found to have played fast and loose with the IRS and now faces serious time after a federal jury in Boston convicted her of tax and mail fraud. Lilian Giang, 56, was indicted in March 2023 and has been found guilty on multiple charges related to dodging taxes and defrauding worker's compensation insurance through her employment agency.
During a three-day jury trial that culminated yesterday, evidence showed Giang failed to properly declare over $3.2 million in payroll through Able Temp Agency, her Quincy-based business. Her motivation, according to the prosecution, was to selfishly boost her own income, to ultimately save more than $800,000 in taxes. Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy was quick to paint a picture of a calculated crime, saying “Every honest taxpayer is a victim of this type of crime. This defendant made hundreds of thousands of dollars after she decided that the rules we all live by don’t apply to her. Now she’s a convicted felon. This should send a clear message that if you engage in tax fraud, the consequences are very serious,” in a statement obtained by the Justice Department.
Giang's deceit didn't stop at skimming taxes; she also exploited the Vietnamese immigrant community she purported to assist. Special Agent in Charge Harry T. Chavis Jr., of IRS Criminal Investigation's Boston Field Office, clarified, “Giang operated her business under the guise of helping the vulnerable Vietnamese immigrant community, when in fact, she exploited them for her own self-enrichment by paying them below minimum wage, charging substantially more than she paid them, and evading paying her own fair share of taxes.”
The charge of failing to collect or pay over taxes promises to land Giang up to five years in the slammer, while the mail fraud charge could tack on another 20. Both sentences include supervised release, hefty fines, and the possibility of restitution or forfeiture. Judge Richard G. Stearns is set to sentence her in July 2024, which might just seriously dissuade others from trying to cheat the system. The case was brought to light with the help of the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Markham and Kristen A. Kearney of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit.
