TAX PREPARATION BUSINESS OWNER AND FIVE ASSOCIATES INDICTED FOR TAX FRAUD

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Alabama Tax Preparation Business Owner and Five Preparers Indicted for Tax Fraud Scheme
Four Charged with Identity Theft
Bruce King, the owner of a Montgomery, Ala., tax preparation business, and five tax preparers from Montgomery have been charged with conspiring to defraud the United States and aiding in the filing of false tax returns, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.  A federal grand jury in Montgomery returned an indictment on March 28, 2012, charging Bruce King, Jenika Williams, Antoinette Djonret, Nakesha Donaldson, Angela Smith and Vonecia Orum with participating in a scheme to file false tax returns.  Williams, Djonret, Donaldson and Smith have also been charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.  The indictment was unsealed yesterday.

According to the indictment, from July 2007 to October 2010, King owned and operated Premier Tax, a tax preparation business in Montgomery along with four other locations in Alabama and Georgia.  King allegedly instructed his employees how to falsify federal income tax returns for the purpose of inflating claimed tax refunds.  Williams, Djonret, Donaldson, Smith and Orum then allegedly prepared false returns by reporting figures that they knew were not correct.

The indictment also alleges that Williams, Djonret, Donaldson and Smith used the names and Social Security numbers of individuals without their knowledge or consent.  Williams, Djonret, Donaldson and Smith allegedly used these names and Social Security numbers to report the individuals as dependents on a customer’s tax return when, in fact, the individuals were not the legitimate dependents of the customer.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, King, Williams, Djonret, Donaldson, Smith and Orum face a potential maximum of five years in federal prison for conspiring to defraud the United States and a potential maximum of three years for each count of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns.  Williams, Djonret, Donaldson and Smith also face a potential maximum of 20 years for each wire fraud count and a mandatory two-year sentence for the aggravated identity theft counts.  They all are also subject to fines and mandatory restitution if convicted.