HAGATNA, Guam — A Guam tax preparer will spend up to 15 months in prison after helping 218 residents file tax returns that made it appear they lived in Hawaii so they could get federal refunds.

Forty-five-year-old Brian Tanaka was sentenced this week in federal district court. Guam is a U.S. territory.
Public defender John Gorman says Tanaka believed taxpayers deserved a refund, but he took a “shortcut” by having them file their taxes as if they lived in a state instead of a territory.
Guam taxpayers aren’t entitled to federal refund checks because they don’t pay into federal coffers.
Instead, their taxes stay in Guam, but local refunds take an average of two years to be paid out.
Tanaka apologized and received a lighter sentence because of his cooperation.