North Dakota

Man pleads guilty to filing fraudulent tax returns for North Dakota clients

Published

2 years ago

February 21, 2024

Man pleads guilty to filing fraudulent tax returns for North Dakota clients

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A former tax return preparer, who provided services to clients in North Dakota, pleaded guilty Wednesday to five counts of preparing false tax returns for clients.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Joseph Korha, currently of Minneapolis, Minnesota, worked as a tax return preparer for a business located in Phoenix, Arizona.

In 2019, Korha prepared and submitted more than 100 fraudulent returns for clients, many of whom resided in the Fargo area.

Korha claimed false tax credits and fictitious business profits and losses on these returns, which inflated his clients’ tax refunds. In total, Korha caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $294,000.

Korha is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday, June 3, 2024, at 10 a.m. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of filing a false tax return.

He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Mac Schneider for the District of North Dakota made the announcement.

“This guilty plea is a victory for honest taxpayers,” Schneider said. “Nobody likes taxes, but when a preparer willfully commits fraud, that’s a crime that hurts the millions of Americans who work with trusted professionals to follow the law. I want to thank our partners at IRS Criminal Investigation for ensuring justice was done in this case.”

“A guilty plea is a good first step in achieving justice for taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas F. Murdock, IRS Criminal Investigation’s St. Louis Field Office. “CI is happy to work alongside our partners in the U.S. Attorney’s Office to track down fraudulent tax preparers and hold them accountable for taking advantage of unsuspecting taxpayers.”

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Dominick Giovanniello of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan A. Healy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of North Dakota are prosecuting the case.

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North Dakota

North Dakota lawmakers from West Fargo announce bid for reelection

Published

11 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

North Dakota lawmakers from West Fargo announce bid for reelection

WEST FARGO — Three incumbents from West Fargo will run for reelection to their state legislative seats.

North Dakota Sen. Judy Lee and Reps. Jim Jonas and Austen Schauer, all Republicans, announced Sunday, Dec. 14, that they would campaign to represent District 13 in the state Legislature. The district covers much of north West Fargo.

Austin Schauer.

Special to The Forum

Lee was first elected to the North Dakota Senate in 1994. Jonas and Schauer have served in the state House since 2023 and 2019, respectively.

The three ran unopposed in the 2022 election. The next election for their seats is in 2026.

Jim Jonas, candidate for West Fargo School Board. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor — Jim Jonas.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

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North Dakota

Bids awarded for construction of Highway 85

Published

23 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

Bids awarded for construction of Highway 85

WATFORD CITY, N.D. (KUMV) – The North Dakota Department of Transportation awarded more than 150 million dollars in bids to continue expanding highway 85 south of Watford City.

More than $83.8 million will go to Park Construction out of Minneapolis for one segment. It covers about five and a half miles south of the Long X Bridge, going through another section of the badlands. It’s expected to be a three-year project due to the rough terrain.

The next segment covers 12 and a half miles south from the badlands to the highway 200 intersection. The winning bid went to Strata out of Grand Forks for $61.7 million. It will be a two-year project.

Funding for these projects were provided by both the state and federal government.

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North Dakota

Griffin’s 18 lead Western Illinois past North Dakota 69-66 in OT – WTOP News

Published

1 day ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — Isaiah Griffin had 18 points in Western Illinois’ 69-66 overtime win against North Dakota on…

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — Isaiah Griffin had 18 points in Western Illinois’ 69-66 overtime win against North Dakota on Saturday.

Griffin had three steals for the Leathernecks (4-7). Karyiek Dixon scored 17 points while shooting 6 of 10 from the field and 5 for 6 from the line and added 18 rebounds. Lucas Lorenzen shot 3 for 13 (1 for 9 from 3-point range) and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line to finish with 14 points.

Eli King led the way for the Fightin’ Hawks (4-9) with 13 points, two steals and four blocks. Greyson Uelmen added 13 points for North Dakota. Garrett Anderson had 11 points and six rebounds.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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