2 defendants charged for alleged money laundering, claiming refund of over $1M via false tax return

HONOLULU (KHON2) — A federal grand jury in Hawaii returned a 15-count indictment that charged two people for allegedly “conspiring to defraud the United States, filing false tax returns and money laundering,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice Attorney’s Office.

According to the indictment, the two people who were charged include Hannah Heart and Sook Young Jung. If they are convicted, they will each face a maximum of 10 years in prison for each count of money laundering, three years for filing fake tax returns, as well as five years for planning to defraud the U.S.

The indictment stated Jung, Heart and another unnamed individual — between 2015 and 2019 — allegedly planned to defraud the U.S. and obtain fraudulent refunds from the IRS by falsely claiming they had paid a large amount in tax withholdings.

Those involved allegedly claimed a refund of $464,904 after they filed a fraudulent 2014 amended individual income tax return, as stated in the indictment. Additionally, they claimed another refund of $1,134,902 when they filed another false 2015 individual income tax return.

The U.S. Department of Justice Attorney’s Office said Jung was arrested on Saturday, Sept. 4, and made her first court appearance on Tuesday, Sept. 7. Heart was arrested on Saturday, Sept. 18, and her first court appearance was on Tuesday, Sept. 21.

The case is being investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation.