Lancaster County Auto Dealer Convicted in Tax Fraud Case

​Harrisburg, Pa. — A Lancaster County auto dealer recently was found guilty of fraudulently filing a personal income tax return and sentenced to two years of probation, Revenue Secretary Dan Hassell announced today. A jury found Mena Samir Dous, of Elizabethtown, guilty of the charge following a two-day trial last week.

“Misrepresenting one’s income to avoid paying taxes is a crime,” Hassell said. “It is our job to ensure that state revenues are not shortchanged by tax evasion, and that law-abiding citizens in the business industry are not facing unfair competition from those who break the law.”

Lancaster County Judge Margaret Miller found Dous guilty of an additional six summary offenses in a non-jury trial. Those charges stemmed from operating without the proper license, deceptive advertising of vehicles and engaging in unprofessional conduct. Dous was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine on each summary offense and file an amended tax return within 30 days.

Dous was criminally charged in April 2017 after investigators determined he failed to report the income from the sales of 21 vehicles in tax year 2015. He also was accused of engaging in deceptive business practices while a licensed salesman for FKS Auto Export, Inc., a Dauphin County-based used car dealership.

Investigators found that Dous deceptively advertised used cars owned by the dealership on Craigslist and Facebook, and sold the vehicles from his home in Elizabethtown without the proper license to do so. They also alleged that Dous advertised the vehicles as private sales in violation of the law.

The charges were the result of a joint investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police and the Department of Revenue’s Bureau of Criminal Tax Investigations. The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case.

Secretary Hassell thanked the Pennsylvania State Police and the Department of Revenue’s investigators for their thorough investigation that led to the charges. He also thanked Lancaster County Assistant District Attorney Alexander Egner for successfully prosecuting the case.