Des Moines, IA – A man from Victor, Iowa, plead guilty on October 5, 2022, to conspiracy to defraud the United States. According to court documents, Daniel Shawn DeRycke, age 59, admitted he conspired with one or more other persons to impede and obstruct the Internal Revenue Service in the assessment and collection of income taxes. DeRycke admitted that from April 2017 to March 2019, through his business, DeRycke’s Crop Depot, he engaged in conduct to help customers reduce income tax owed by accepting backdated checks, generating false expense invoices, and exchanging checks to give the appearance of an expense that was not in fact incurred by the customers.

DeRycke is scheduled to be sentenced on February 3, 2023 and faces up to 5 years in prison. DeRycke has agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $189,919. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Charles Miller says “This investigation is evidence to criminals that you cannot falsify figures on your own tax returns, let alone aid others with documents to bolster lies to the federal government on their tax returns. IRS Criminal Investigation special agents will continue to be on the front lines to defend the American tax system from fraud and deception.”

U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa and the Internal Revenue Service made the announcement. The Internal Revenue Service, United States Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the case.