Las Vegas Tax Preparer Ivan Odiaga Sentenced to 38 Months in $5 Million False Refund Scheme With His Mother

Published Oct. 22, 2026. Case status is current as of that date.

For several years, clients of a Las Vegas tax shop trusted it to file their returns. Federal prosecutors say the preparers padded those returns with false business losses and credits, sought more than $5 million in refunds the clients weren't owed, and quietly routed more than $1.1 million of the refund money to themselves.

On Oct. 21, 2026, Ivan Odiaga was sentenced to 38 months in prison and ordered to pay $1,052,378 in restitution for conspiring to defraud the United States, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada announced [1]. His mother and co-defendant, Iris Hondermann, who owned the business, pleaded guilty on Aug. 5 to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States [1].

Status: Odiaga has been sentenced. Hondermann has pleaded guilty; the release does not give a sentencing date for her (status pending).

The business and the people

According to court documents and statements made in court, as summarized by prosecutors [1]:

• Ivan Odiaga of Las Vegas prepared federal income tax returns at Silver State Tax & Multiservices LLC.
• Iris Hondermann, Odiaga's mother, owned the business and is his co-defendant.

How the scheme worked

Prosecutors say that from about 2017 through 2021, Odiaga and Hondermann prepared returns for clients that included one or more false items [1], including:

• Business profits and losses that were not accurate
• COVID-19 sick and family leave credits
• Residential energy credits

In 2020 and 2021, Odiaga also prepared some returns using the Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) of another tax preparer, without that preparer's permission, according to the release.

Over that period, the false returns sought more than $5 million in refunds that the clients were not entitled to receive. "At times," prosecutors said, Odiaga and his mother "also diverted portions of client tax refunds to themselves," sending more than $1.1 million in fraudulent refunds to bank accounts that one or both of them controlled [1].

"For years, the defendant and his mother used fraud and deception to exploit hundreds of clients and enrich themselves at the expense of the American taxpayer," said John Abram, acting special agent in charge of IRS Criminal Investigation's San Francisco Field Office [1].

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah said the defendant "abused a position of trust to orchestrate a brazen, multi-million dollar theft" [1].

IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case, and Trial Attorney Stuart A. Wexler of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division's Tax Section prosecuted it.

Why clients get hurt too

The release describes the clients as people the preparers "exploit[ed]" [1]. It does not say whether individual clients have since been billed by the IRS for the improper refunds. In general, though, you are legally responsible for what's on your own tax return, even if a paid preparer filled it in. If a preparer adds credits or losses you don't qualify for, the IRS can later come back to you for the money, plus interest and possible penalties. And if part of your refund is diverted to someone else's account, you may never see it.

Red flags in a tax preparer

• Promises of a bigger refund than you expect, or fees based on a percentage of your refund.
• Credits you've never heard of or don't think apply to you, such as business losses when you have no business or pandemic-era sick leave credits.
• Refund routed to an account you don't recognize, or a preparer who wants the refund deposited to them first.
• A preparer who won't sign the return or give you a full copy before it's filed.
• Being asked to sign a blank or incomplete return.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Review your return line by line before it's filed, and make sure the direct deposit account number is yours.
2. Keep a copy of every return filed under your name.
3. Check your IRS online account to see what was filed and where your refund went.
4. If you suspect your preparer filed false information or took your refund, the IRS asks taxpayers to report abusive preparers using Form 14157 (and Form 14157-A for a return filed or changed without consent); search for those forms on irs.gov [2].
5. Consider a second opinion from a CPA, enrolled agent or IRS-certified volunteer program if your return looks wrong.

Case status (as of Oct. 22, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 22, 2026	Source
Ivan Odiaga, Las Vegas	U.S. District Court, District of Nevada	Sentenced Oct. 21, 2026: 38 months in prison; $1,052,378 restitution (conspiracy to defraud the United States)	[1]
Iris Hondermann (owner, Silver State Tax & Multiservices LLC)	U.S. District Court, District of Nevada	Pleaded guilty Aug. 5 (conspiracy to defraud the United States); sentencing date not announced (status pending)	[1]

Statuses can change. Those not convicted are presumed innocent.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Nevada, "Las Vegas Man Sentenced to Prison in $5M Tax Refund Fraud Scheme," Oct. 21, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-nv/pr/las-vegas-man-sentenced-prison-5m-tax-refund-fraud-scheme
2. Internal Revenue Service (accessed Oct. 22, 2026). https://www.irs.gov/

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