TWO SENTENCED FOR ROLES IN FILING FALSE TAX RETURN CONSPIRACY

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Mo Money Tax Return Preparers Sentenced to Prison for Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and Filing False Tax Returns

Two Memphis, Tennessee, area residents were sentenced to prison today for conspiring to defraud the United States and aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia.

Jeremy Blanchard, 35, and Erik Pittman, 35, both of Memphis, were sentenced to serve 70 and 33 months in prison, respectively, to be followed by three years and one year of supervised release, respectively.  Blanchard and Pittman previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns.  The defendants were ordered to pay $549,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

“Mr. Blanchard and Mr. Pittman inflated the deductions and credits claimed on their clients’ income tax returns to line their own pockets at the expense of the U.S. Treasury,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo.  “Taxpayers seeking assistance with their returns should expect and are entitled to honest and accurate advice and representation.  When preparers seek to abuse our nation’s tax system for their own personal gain, the department stands ready with its law enforcement partners to investigate, prosecute and hold the offenders accountable for their criminal conduct to the fullest extent of the law.”

“While most tax return preparers provide excellent service to their clients, it only takes a few dishonest return preparers to give the industry a black eye,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas Jankowski of the IRS-Criminal Investigation’s (CI) Washington, D.C., Field Office. “IRS-CI works year round to investigate dishonest return preparers and protect the American taxpayers’ money.  Return preparers must comply with the same tax obligations as the clients that they serve.  No one is above the law.”

According to court documents, Blanchard and Pittman were partners in a return preparation business, Mo Money Taxes, which operated three locations in the Richmond, Virginia, area.  Blanchard, Pittman and others prepared numerous false tax returns for their customers for the 2011 tax year.  Blanchard and Pittman admitted that they created and inflated fictitious and fraudulent tax credits, including the Earned Income Credit and the American Opportunity Credit, to claim tax refunds that customers were not entitled to receive.  Blanchard and Pittman admitted that their conduct caused a loss to the IRS of more than $250,000, but less than $550,000.

Another participant in this scheme, Corey Taylor, 25, of Richmond, was sentenced on March 22 to serve 20 months in prison for one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Boente thanked special agents of IRS-CI, the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorneys Kevin F. Sweeney and Todd P. Kostyshak of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Miller of the Eastern District of Virginia, who prosecuted the case.

MAN RECEIVES SENTENCE OF 87 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR IDENTITY THEFT AND TAX FRAUD

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Friday, April 25, 2014

Alabama Man Sentenced for Tax Fraud and Identity Theft

Nakia Jackson, of Montgomery, Alabama, was sentenced to serve 87 months in prison today for conspiring to defraud the United States and one count of aggravated identity theft for his role in a stolen identity refund fraud scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Justice Department's Tax Division, U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. for the Middle District of Alabama and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

According to court documents, between January 2009 and March 2011, Jackson obtained stolen identities from an Alabama state employee and used those identities to file false tax returns.  Jackson recruited a bank employee, LaQuanta Clayton, to assist him in depositing the false income tax refunds into various bank accounts.  He obtained permission from several individuals to use their bank accounts to receive false refunds and when a false refund was deposited, Jackson would direct the individuals to withdraw the money and give the money to him.  In total, Jackson filed over 100 false tax returns and requested over $400,000 in refunds.

In addition, Jackson was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $212,856 in restitution.

IRS-Criminal Investigation agents investigated this case and Trial Attorneys Charles M. Edgar Jr. and Michael Boteler for the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Brown are prosecuting the case.

MAN GETS 48 MONTHS FOR STOLEN IDENTITY REFUND FRAUD

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Monday, November 19, 2012
New Mexico Man Sentenced to Prison for Stolen Identity Refund Fraud
Douglas Kuester, 43, a tax preparer from Silver City, N.M., was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for filing false claims and aggravated identity theft, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. Kuester was also ordered to pay $911,000 in restitution and will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

Kuester had pleaded guilty to the charges in May. He was originally indicted by a federal grand jury on Jan. 18, 2012, and has been in custody since his arrest on January 24.

According to court documents, Kuester used stolen identities to file false tax returns which fraudulently claimed refunds. He would direct the fraudulently obtained refunds to various bank accounts and prepaid debit cards, retaining portions of the proceeds for himself. Kuester also admitted to using an anonymizer to help conceal his filing of the false returns.

Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales commended special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Jason H. Poole and Gregory P. Bailey, who prosecuted the case with assistance from the New Mexico U.S. Attorney’s Office.

VIRGINIA RESIDENT INDICTED FOR TAX CRIMES

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Virginia Man Charged with Tax Crimes
A Newport News, Va., federal grand jury has indicted Jeffrey Charles for conspiring with his daughter and son-in-law to defraud the United States, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. Charles is charged with one count of conspiracy, three counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns and one count of filing a false tax return. The court has not yet set a trial date.

According to the indictment, Charles conspired with his daughter and son-in-law to impair and impede the IRS in ascertaining, computing, assessing and collecting federal income taxes. The indictment also alleges that Charles aided and assisted in the preparation of three false tax returns in his daughter’s name for tax years 2000, 2001 and 2005, and attached false documents to each tax return. As alleged in the indictment, Charles also filed a false tax return in his own name for tax year 2006 in which he allegedly falsely reported earning $0.00 income.

An indictment merely alleges that a crime has been committed, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, Charles faces a maximum of 17 years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $1.25 million.

The case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Samuels of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Justin K. Gelfand of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.