Vancouver tax preparer who cost U.S. Treasury $5 million sentenced to prison

A high-volume Vancouver tax preparer was sentenced to federal prison, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington last week.

Keith Altamirano, 52, will spend 18 months behind bars for 16 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent tax returns, along with a 135-month concurrent sentence for his convictions on an attempted murder charge.

Altamirano operated Integrity Investments, LLC, and did business as “Servicios Latinos.”

“Between 2017 and 2021, Altamirano prepared at least 12,000 tax returns,” the attorney’s office stated. “A statistical sampling analysis reveals that his false entries on customer tax returns cost the U.S. Treasury more than $5 million in tax loss.”

Chief U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo said tax preparer fraud impacts the government’s ability to “function properly” and that adequate “deterrence [was] necessary.”

Altamirano falsified clients’ income tax submissions by listing fake medical expenses and charitable donations, according to records filed in the case. He also listed fake cars and inflated business expenses.

Altamirano would then omit his name on his clients’ filed returns.

The attorney’s office noted clients didn’t know Altamirano falsified their tax returns to get them larger refunds. Those inflated refunds, in turn, drove customers to recommend him to others and helped his business.

Prosecutors asked for a five-year sentence, stating Altamirano’s customers were victimized by his actions.

“Altamirano’s clients trusted him [and paid him] to maximize their deductions honestly and in accordance with the law. His clients were not tax literate, and they chose him as their trusted professional,” prosecutors stated.

“Altamirano greatly abused this trust and put them at risk by creating fraudulent returns on their behalf. Many of his clients have been audited and risk penalties and back taxes. His clients believed they were hiring a professional to ensure their taxes were done correctly, and many of them have had to deal with the stress of being embroiled in Altamirano’s criminal affairs,” they continued.

The tax loss for the 16 counts Altamirano pleaded guilty to is $104,518. He agreed to pay that amount in restitution to the IRS. Estudillo also ordered Altamirano to sell one of the four properties he owns.

Vancouver tax preparer pleads guilty to attempted second-degree murder, drug charges

In September 2025, Altamirano pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder and drug charges in Clark County Superior Court. He was sentenced to 135 months of imprisonment in his state case, which will run concurrently with his federal sentence, according to the judgment.

Altamirano was charged in February with attempted murder for intentionally crashing into the motorcycle that his son was riding, according to a March news release from the attorney’s office.

Altamirano reportedly claimed his car had been stolen and used to hit his son, but dashcam video revealed a different story. He was subsequently arrested and charged.

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