RIVERSIDE, Calif. (CN) - A father who shot his son in an attempt to cover their tax-fraud scheme was sentenced to seven years in prison by a federal judge. Paul Hansen, 57, received the 84-month sentence after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the IRS last year. He also admitted to identity theft and possessing false credit cards and identity documents.
Hansen led a 2002 scheme in which he and his son collected Social Security numbers from homeless people in Los Angeles, and used them to claim $629,000 in fraudulent tax returns over seven months. In 2005 the Hansens stole personal information from online "wanted" posters put up by law enforcement to claim nearly $300,000 in tax refunds.
Judge Stephen Larson ordered Hansen to pay the IRS more than $115,000 in restitution. Hansen's son, Adam, 28, will serve 1.5 years in a correctional facility and six months in home confinement, and will pay more than $93,000 in restitution to the IRS. Earlier this year, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government and making false statements.
Hansen, of Apple Valley, Calif., shot his son, Adam, in an attempt to develop a "duress" defense to charges of tax fraud. After the shooting, Hansen falsely claimed that a man named "Floter Warhop" designed the tax scheme and enlisted the Hansens' help by threatening to kill them.
A third defendant, Mauricio Lopez, 27, was charged with conspiracy for helping the Hansens file false claims in 2002 and for impeding the IRS in its criminal investigation of the Hansens. Lopez faces sentencing Monday.
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