Virginia Tax Return Preparer Sentenced to Prison for Filing Fraudulent Returns
A Danville, Virginia, resident was sentenced to 30 months in prison for aiding and assisting in the preparation of fraudulent tax returns, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle for the Western District of Virginia.
According to documents filed with the court, Timothy Harris, 49, owned and operated TNA Tax Services and TNT Tax Services, which were located in Danville and Rocky Mount. Harris used these businesses to prepare false tax returns for clients that claimed bogus business losses in order to seek refunds to which his clients were not entitled. After the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revoked Harris’s Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN) in December 2012, he used another person’s EFIN to continue filing tax returns. Harris admitted that his fraudulent conduct caused a tax loss of more than $250,000.
In addition to the term of prison imposed, Senior U.S. District Judge Jackson L. Kiser ordered Harris to serve one year of supervised release and to pay $335,389 in restitution to the IRS. Harris pleaded guilty in July 2017 to aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
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