Judge Sentences Woman To Prison For Preparing False Income Tax Return

Houston – Shirley M. Carrington has been ordered to prison following her conviction of willfully aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of a false U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today along with Lucy Cruz, special agent in charge of Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). Carrington pleaded guilty Jan. 7, 2013.

Today, U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore handed Carrington a sentence of 18 months in federal prison to be followed by one year of supervised release.

According to the written plea agreement filed in the record of the case, Carrington admitted she willfully prepared a false income tax return for a husband and wife that included a claim for losses from an alleged janitorial service sole proprietorship the taxpayers did not have. Carrington also admitted the return she prepared for the couple also claimed a false deduction for unreimbursed employee expenses and a false deduction for other miscellaneous deductions. Carrington admitted that the tax loss to the United States on the false tax return for which she pleaded guilty was $10,962.

Carrington further admitted in the plea agreement that the eight tax returns underlying the eight counts in the indictment in the case all claimed false losses from alleged janitorial sole proprietorships that none of the taxpayers had. Her relevant conduct, which is the total tax loss in the case, for purposes of sentencing was $199,472. 

This matter was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles J. Escher.