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NEW YORK ATTORNEY/TAX PREPARER

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A Long Island attorney and tax preparer today pleaded guilty to preparing, and aiding clients in the preparation of numerous false and fraudulent tax returns, and submitting false and misleading documents and information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) during the course of his clients' tax audits, the Department of Justice announced.

According to the four-count criminal information, from 1991 through 1996, Sebastian Ragusa of Nassau County, New York, knowingly prepared individual income tax returns on behalf of his clients that overstated itemized deductions, understated taxable income and understated income tax liability. The information also alleges that Ragusa, whose business was operated under a variety of names in Hicksville, New York, submitted false letters to the IRS that claimed clients were not reimbursed by their employers for business expenses, when in fact the clients did receive reimbursements from their employers.

Ragusa, who faces a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment, and/or a $250,000 fine on each of the four counts, entered his guilty pleas before U.S. District Judge Leonard Wexler.

This case was investigated by Agents of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service, and by U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division Trial Attorneys, James W. Chapman, Jr. and Karen E. Kelly.

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