Tax Fraud: Arvada Martial Arts Studio Owner Pleads Guilty

DENVER, CO – An Arvada business owner filed a guilty plea for federal tax fraud Monday in Federal Court.

Marlene Seo, 46, owner of Seo’s Martial Arts Academy's locations in Arvada and Lakewood, was indicted in May by a Denver grand jury for failing to pay corporate taxes on her business between 2011- 2013, a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver said.

Prosecutors alleged that Seo hid a portion of her company's earnings –about $650,000– over three years, which she secretly deposited into personal accounts of which her accountant and tax preparer had no knowledge. The result was that the company underreported the business’s gross receipts on corporate tax returns for tax years 2011, 2012, and 2013, the indictment said.

Seo pleaded guilty to signing and filing a false corporate tax return in 2012. She is scheduled to return to court for sentencing Feb. 1, 2019. Seo faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison. She also faces supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties, the DOJ said.

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