U.S. Department of Justice

02/17/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 02/17/2026 16:26

Virginia Landlord Sentenced to Prison for Obstructing the IRS and Willfully Failing to File Tax Returns

A Woodbridge man was sentenced today to three years in prison for violating criminal tax laws.

In November 2025, a federal jury convicted Omini Tete Riman of obstructing the IRS and willfully failing to file tax returns. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Riman was an information technology specialist and landlord, who filed false tax returns with the IRS for 2013 and 2014 and received refunds for both years that he was not entitled to receive. When the IRS attempted to recoup the refunds, Riman obstructed that effort - he transferred his property to a trust, opened a bank account in the name of the trust and directed his income to be deposited into the trust account to hide it from the IRS. Riman also submitted false documents claiming that the IRS collections officer handling his case had personally received over $600,000 from Riman, which, if accepted by the IRS, would have increased the officer's own tax liability. In addition, Riman stopped filing tax returns for the years 2018 through 2023, even though he received a total of more than $854,000 during that period and was required to file each year. In total, Riman caused a tax loss to the IRS exceeding $500,000.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Daniel Lipkowitz of the Criminal Division's Tax Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Harvey for the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case.

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