Woodbridge Man Indicted for Obstructing IRS, Failing to File Tax Returns

A federal grand jury has indicted a Woodbridge man on charges of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service and willfully failing to file tax returns over multiple years, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

According to the indictment returned in Alexandria on April 8, Omini Tete Riman, an information technology specialist, is accused of filing false tax returns and later taking steps to hinder the IRS from collecting nearly $400,000 in refunds he allegedly obtained under false pretenses.

Prosecutors say Riman submitted fraudulent tax returns for 2013 and 2014, falsely claiming nearly $2 million in income and almost $1 million in withheld taxes. Based on these filings, he allegedly received approximately $400,000 in refunds from the IRS.

When the IRS initiated efforts to recover the money in 2016, Riman allegedly transferred his assets to a trust, opened bank accounts in the trust’s name, and had his wages deposited into those accounts in an attempt to shield funds from the government. Additionally, he is accused of submitting false documents to the IRS — including one that falsely claimed an IRS employee owed him money, and that Riman had canceled the debt, a move that would have potentially increased the employee’s own tax liability.

The indictment further alleges that Riman failed to file tax returns from 2018 to 2023, despite knowing he was required to do so. After learning in 2025 that he was under investigation by a federal grand jury, he allegedly filed backdated returns for tax years 2017 through 2020, falsely stating that he had earned no income.

If convicted, Riman faces a maximum of three years in prison for each count of obstructing the IRS and up to one year for each count of failing to file tax returns.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Isaiah Boyd III and Daniel Lipkowitz of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Harvey for the Eastern District of Virginia. The IRS Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Inspector General are investigating the case.

The announcement was made by Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly and U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert. Officials reminded the public that an indictment is not a conviction and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.