Owner of interpreter services company cited in fraud investigation pleads guilty to filing false tax returns
By Adam Bartow
Click here for updates on this story
PORTLAND, Maine (WMTW) — An Auburn woman who owned a language interpretation business called Reliable Language Resources pleaded guilty on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Portland to filing a false tax return and interfering with the administration of federal tax laws.
According to court records, Rakiya Mohamed, 30, filed false federal income tax returns for 2018 and 2019 and provided false records to the IRS when those tax returns were audited.
Court documents say Mohamed reported the income and expenses for the business on her individual income tax returns and reported false and fraudulent expenses for contract labor and office expenses for Reliable Language Resources on those tax returns.
The IRS audited Mohamed’s 2018 and 2019 tax returns, and Mohamed provided the auditors with falsified business records to substantiate the false and fraudulent expenses.
8 Investigates has previously reported that, according to federal prosecutors, Bright Future Healthier You, a company that bills MaineCare for health and social services, hired Reliable Language Resources LLC and Momo Interpreters to provide interpreting services for its clients.
Prosecutors allege the three companies worked together to falsify tax filings by claiming interpreters were paid for services that never occurred. Authorities say the scheme allowed Bright Future Healthier You to overbill MaineCare, while Reliable Language Resources and Momo Interpreters filed false tax documents to support the claims. The alleged misconduct spans from 2018 to 2022.
A federal grand jury indicted three people in February 2025, including Mohamed, who is the daughter of Asmo Dol, who worked at Bright Future Healthier You. Prosecutors dropped charges against Dol following their recent death.
Abdifitah Abdi, who runs Momo Interpreters, was also indicted.
When sentenced, Mohamed faces up to three years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.