PORTLAND (WGME) — The owner of a Maine business that provides interpreter services has pleaded guilty to tax fraud.
Rakiya Mohamed, the owner of Reliable Language Resources based in Lewiston, pleaded guilty in federal court to two charges: filing a false tax return and interfering with federal tax laws. Prosecutors say it all dates back to her personal tax returns for 2018 and 2019.
According to an indictment filed by the United States District Court of Maine, audits revealed that Mohamed falsely reported payments related to her business, including $170,000 for contracted work and more than $200,000 for office costs in 2019.
Mohamed now faces up to 5 years in prison, plus $250,000 in fines.
Back in January, Mohamed, along with her mother, was accused of participating in a scheme to bill MaineCare, Maine’s Medicaid program, for payments made to employees who did not exist and for services that were never provided.
Prosecutors say this scheme involved multiple other organizations, including Lewiston-based health consulting service Bright Future Healthier You.
Records show Bright Future contracted with Reliable Language Resources for interpreter services.
“In truth, as Mohamed knew, Reliable Language Resources had not made these payments and the supposed payees had not provided any services for Reliable Language Resources,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Green wrote in court documents.
CBS13 reached out to Mohamed’s attorney Friday. They didn’t want to comment.
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We also reached out to Reliable Language Resources and haven’t heard back.
