Owner of local ‘Raining Cash’ tax company pleads guilty to causing $1.2M in losses

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A local tax preparer pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to aiding in the preparation of false and fraudulent tax returns.

Ali Kasimu Alston, 48, of Columbus, offered his guilty plea during an arraignment today.

According to court documents, from at least 2015 through at least 2022, Alston owned and operated a tax return preparation business in Columbus named Overtime Ventures, LLC that did business as Raining Cash Tax Service.

Alston admitted to systematically falsifying client tax returns to maximize refunds from the IRS. He filed Schedule Cs with fake businesses to maximize tax credits. For example, one false tax return for calendar year 2021 reported false losses for a home healthcare company that did not exist. The false business losses reduced the client's taxable income, thereby decreasing the tax due and increasing the client's claimed tax refund.

The defendant also attempted to bribe one of his former employees with $4,000 in cash to provide false information to law enforcement, which he knew at the time was investigating his tax preparation business.

Alston was charged by a bill of information in September 2024. As part of his conviction, he will pay more than $1.2 million in restitution to the IRS. Alston will be sentenced at a future hearing.

Aiding in the preparation of a false and fraudulent tax return is a federal crime punishable by up to three years in prison. Congress sets the maximum statutory sentence.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Cincinnati Field Office, announced the guilty plea offered today before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Norah McCann King. Assistant United States Attorney David J. Twombly is representing the United States in this case.

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