Press Release
MIAMI RETURN PREPARER PLEADS GUILTY TO TAX PREPARATION FRAUD SCHEME
June 10, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jeffrey H. Sloman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Daniel W. Auer, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, announced that defendant Beaudelaire Telfort, 37, of Miami, pled guilty today to one count of aiding and assisting in the filing of a false tax return, in violation of Title 26, United States Code 7206(2). Telfort remains on bond pending sentencing. Sentencing is scheduled for August 19, 2009 at 9:30 AM, before U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia Altonaga. At sentencing, Telfort faces up to three years' imprisonment and mandatory restitution.
According to court documents, Telfort managed his own business, Nation Tax 1, in Miami, where he prepared tax returns for other individuals and filed them electronically with the IRS. Telfort received fees in connection with the preparation and filing of those returns. On April 24, 2009, a twenty-six count indictment was unsealed against the defendant charging him with tax fraud charges. As set forth in the Indictment, Telfort was charged with assisting in the preparation of false U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns (Forms 1040) for numerous individuals during calendar tax years 2002 and 2003. The tax returns contained false information regarding wages, income and withholding amounts. In total, the fraudulent tax filings sought more than $80,061 in fraudulent tax refunds.
During the plea hearing, Telfort admitted to preparing and filing a tax return for a client in which he misrepresented the client's wages and income, and the amount of federal taxes withheld. Telfort also admitted to filing a fictitious W-2 form with said return, which suggested that the client had worked for a second employer and earned a salary working for that employer. The material misrepresentations resulted in a claimed tax refund that was significantly greater than what the client was legitimately entitled to receive.
Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph B. Shumofsky.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Technical comments about this website can be e-mailed to the Webmaster. PLEASE NOTE: The United States Attorney's Office does not respond to non-technical inquiries made to this website. If you wish to make a request for information, you may contact our office at 305-961-9001, or you may send a written inquiry to the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida, 99 NE 4th Street, Miami, Fl. 33132.