TAX PREPARER CHARGED WITH FALSE CLAIMS, TAX EVASION, AND OBSTRUCTION
JAMES W. NELSON, age 60, a resident of LaPlace, Louisiana, was charged today in a three-count bill of information with one count of filing false claims against the United States, one count of tax evasion, and one count of obstruction of justice, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten.
According to court documents, from approximately 1992 through the present, NELSON was engaged in the business of preparing and filing income tax returns at his business, Nelson’s Computerized Tax Service. NELSON’s business had multiple offices throughout the New Orleans metropolitan area. The Bill of Information alleges that, from 2007 through 2011, NELSON, or his employees under his direction, prepared and filed false income tax returns for his customers, which contained false Schedule C amounts, false Schedule A deductions, and other false forms, fraudulently claiming tens of thousands of dollars in refunds they were not entitled to.
Additionally, according to the Bill of Information, in the years 2006, 2008, and 2009, NELSON allegedly received taxable income to which there was due and owing approximately $21,051 in taxes to the United States. According to court documents, NELSON willfully evaded paying this amount. Finally, according to the Bill of Information, in connection with this investigation, in or about June 2010, NELSON allegedly obstructed justice by knowingly falsifying a document to be used to support one of his customer’s fraudulent tax returns and the false Schedule C amounts contained in the return.
Regarding today’s charges, IRS Special Agent-in-Charge Jim Lee stated:
“IRS-CI will be diligent in their investigations of people like James Nelson
who file false claims with the IRS or who evade paying their personal taxes.”
If he is convicted of the false claims charge or the tax evasion charge, NELSON faces a maximum penalty of five(5) years imprisonment, three (3) years supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment, as to each count.
If he is convicted of the obstruction charged against him, NELSON faces a maximum penalty of twenty (20) years imprisonment, three (3) years supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.
U. S. Attorney Letten reiterated that a Bill of Information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being investigated by agents from the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division and the United States Secret Service.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorneys Matt Chester and Brian Klebba.
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