Bastrop tax preparer sentenced to 21 months in prison for filing false returns

MONROE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a Bastrop woman was sentenced to 21 months in prison for filing false tax returns.

Stella Marie Dunlap, 37, of Bastrop, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert G. James on one count of aiding and assisting in making and subscribing a false tax return. She was also sentenced to one year of supervised release and ordered to pay $104,410 restitution. According to evidence presented at the March 3, 2015 guilty plea, Dunlap filed fraudulent Forms 1040 during the 2010 and 2011 tax filing seasons while employed as a tax preparer at Faster Tax Services in Bastrop. The returns contained fraudulent W-2 income information from fictitious companies, and the information was used to file Earned Income Tax Credit withholdings. As a result of the fraud, the IRS issued $104,410 in refunds to which taxpayers where not entitled. Dunlap received kickbacks from some of the customers as part of the scheme.

Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg prosecuted the case.