Roger Arthur Beu, Jr. Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Submit Fraudulent Tax Returns and Failing to Register as a Convicted Sex Offender

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- On September 20, 2017, Roger Arthur Beu, Jr., 57, of Harriman, Tennessee, was sentenced by the Honorable Thomas W. Phillips, Senior U.S. District Judge, to serve 41 months in prison for his role in preparing and submitting fraudulent federal tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and for failing to register on the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry.  Following his release from prison, Beu will be supervised by U.S. Probation for three years.  He was also ordered to pay restitution to the IRS.

Beu pleaded guilty to two indictments in April 2017.  The first indictment charged that as a paid tax preparer, he assisted in the preparation of several fraudulent federal income tax forms submitted to the IRS between 2009 and 2013 in a scheme to defraud the IRS.  The fraudulent tax forms pertained to several businesses owned by Morgan County businessman Joseph Armes, Jr.  Armes previously pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.  The tax fraud scheme defrauded the IRS of more than $1.4 million in tax revenue.

The second indictment charged that, having previously been convicted of sexual battery by an authority figure in 2009, Beu failed to register with the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry after he moved from Indiana to Roane County, Tennessee in August 2016.

U.S. Attorney Nancy Stallard Harr praised the cooperative efforts of the investigators in this case and said, “In addition to pursuing tax fraud offenders, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to aggressively enforcing federal laws enacted to ensure that our citizens are aware of the whereabouts of convicted sex offenders living in our communities.

"Our core mission is the enforcement of our nation’s tax laws," stated Tracey D. Montaño, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the IRS-Criminal Investigation Nashville Field Office.  “To build faith in our nation’s tax system, honest taxpayers need to be reassured that everyone is paying their fair share.  IRS-Criminal Investigation, together with the Department of Justice, will continue to investigate and prosecute those who defraud our tax system by aiding in the filing of false returns,” added SAC Montaño.   

These investigations were conducted by IRS-Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General, and U.S. Marshals Service.   Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Morris represented the United States in the court proceedings.

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