Richmond resident fined $75,000 for involvement in filing of a false tax return

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced that on July 27, 2022, Tzu Chin Lee, also known as Tzu-Chin Lee, Tzu Lee, Tzu C Lee, Tze Chin Lee and Rooman Lee, of Richmond, British Columbia, pleaded guilty in the Provincial Court of British Columbia to one count of making, or participating in the making of, false or deceptive statements in a tax return under the Income Tax Act. Ms. Lee was also sentenced to a fine of $75,000, for her role in the preparation of Agape Enterprise Corp’s (Agape) 2016 Corporation Income Tax Return.

A CRA investigation revealed that Ms. Lee participated in the operations of Agape. Ms. Lee had instructed an external accountant on the preparation of Agape’s 2016 Corporation Income Tax Return, and was aware that the business’ return overstated the cost of materials acquired between December 2015 and June 2016, by $847,605. These overstated amounts were supported by false commercial invoices and were provided to the external accountant to prepare the return. Ms. Lee was provided the completed return by email, which she arranged to be signed and filed with the CRA.

All case-specific information above was obtained from the court records.

The majority of Canadians pay their taxes in full and on time. To ensure that the tax system is fair for everyone, the CRA makes sure that people who try to avoid or evade paying their fair share of taxes are held accountable. The CRA publishes information about possible tax non-compliance and other enforcement actions to encourage voluntary compliance, to demonstrate its commitment to administering and enforcing Canada’s tax laws, and to taking action against those who do not comply.

The CRA is dedicated to maintaining the integrity of Canada’s tax system, thereby contributing to the social and economic well-being of Canadians. The CRA continues to aggressively pursue tax evasion, and false claims with all the tools available to it. The CRA works to make sure that individuals and businesses report all income earned and only claim benefits to which they are entitled, so that important benefit programs can be administered to those who need them. Any individual or business who underreports income, or claims losses or benefits to which they are not entitled may have to repay the benefit amounts and may be subject to other possible action.

The CRA has set up a free subscription service to help Canadians stay current on the CRA’s enforcement efforts.

Associated Links

Leads Program
Voluntary Disclosures Program

Contacts

Media Relations – Regional contact
TJ Madigan
Canada Revenue Agency
587-475-3816

- 30 -