Tresor Mugogo Ngoy, a 41-year-old resident of Waterloo, Iowa, was sentenced on March 13 to three years in federal prison for preparing and filing fraudulent tax returns.
Ngoy pleaded guilty on August 25, 2025, to one count of making and subscribing a false tax return. The case highlights the consequences of filing false tax documents and the importance of honesty in the U.S. income-tax system.
According to court records, Ngoy admitted to signing and filing a false tax return for himself for the 2020 tax year. Evidence presented at sentencing showed he filed similar false returns from 2017 through 2022. Authorities said Ngoy prepared more than 50 fraudulent returns that claimed over $250,000 in refunds by falsifying deductions and credits. He was paid between $100 and $300 in cash per return by members of the Congolese community in Waterloo.
Ngoy has lived in the United States since 2012 and has a criminal record that includes five convictions for operating while intoxicated as well as other driving-related offenses. At the time of sentencing, he was serving a five-year state prison term following an April 2025 conviction for operating while intoxicated in Black Hawk County.
United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams ordered Ngoy to serve 36 months’ imprisonment and pay more than $250,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). After his release from prison, he will be subject to one year of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
“As the tax filing deadline looms, most taxpayers are filing timely, accurate tax returns. But those looking to cheat the government should know IRS—Criminal Investigation exists to track cheaters down and hold them accountable,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge William Steenson. “That not only applies to individual filers, but also to those who prepare and submit fraudulent tax returns for others.”
“The American income-tax system relies on trust and honesty,” said United States Attorney Leif Olson. “Not just the federal government’s trust that we’ll pay our taxes honestly, but each taxpayer’s trust in every other taxpayer that we’ll all play by the rules. When a cheat like Mugogo Ngoy drains money from the federal treasury, he isn’t taking advantage of a system; he’s taking advantage of every one of us who has paid taxes honestly. Now he’ll pay the price.”
Ngoy remains in custody with the United States Marshal until transfer to a federal prison facility.
