2 O.C. Men Sentenced in Tax Case

Two Orange County men have been sentenced to prison for using their tax preparation business in Los Angeles to file phony tax returns that generated $200,000 in fraudulent refunds. Timothy Lewis, 36, of Santa Ana, drew a two-year term, while Bilal Rabah, 57, who claims residences in Santa Ana and Los Angeles, was sentenced to 27 months by federal Judge James M. Ideman. A federal jury convicted the men in January of conspiracy to prepare and file false income tax returns. The men ran a tax-preparation service called Community Cash Circulation Connection, which catered generally to women receiving government assistance. The men would make up information for the returns, without the clients’ knowledge, and file false returns that resulted in fraudulent refunds, according to Assistant U.S. Atty. Maurice Suh.