Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — A jury has determined the Provo-based company, COS Accounting and Tax LLC, and two of its agents are not guilty of fraudulently claiming over $11 million in IRS credits.
In the culmination of a multiyear investigation and lengthy legal battle, company CEO Mason Warr, 37, of Vineyard, and managing partner Zachary Bassett, 39, of Provo, as well as their company, which does business under the name 1099 Tax Pros, were acquitted of all 25 charges against them — conspiracy to defraud the U.S., wire fraud and filing false tax returns — district court records show.
"This case, founded on misguided assumptions, should never have been brought in the first place. We are grateful to the jury for seeing the truth," Wendy Lewis, co-counsel for Bassett, said in a prepared statement. "The jury's verdict stands as a testament to justice being served, allowing Zach and Mason to begin rebuilding their lives after this traumatic chapter."
The IRS's criminal investigation division accused the men of submitting more than a thousand tax forms to the IRS for their clients from April 2020 to August 2021, allegedly abusing a refundable employee retention tax credit as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
Charges were brought against Bassett and Warr in February 2023, but after a two-week trial and a full day of deliberations, a federal jury found the defendants not guilty on all charges on Sept. 25.
Warr's attorneys Aaron Clark and Trinity Jordan said in a statement, "Today, they have been vindicated, and it is time for them to move forward."
