FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885
AUGUST 14, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TAX PREPARER PLEADS GUILTY TO PREPARING AND FILING
FALSE TAX RETURNS
Scheduled To Go To Trial Today
Greenbelt, Maryland - Marvin L. Binion, age 58, of Hyattsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to thirteen counts of aiding and assisting in the filing of false income tax returns, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
According to the plea agreement presented to the court, from 1997 to about 2001, Marvin Binion owned and operated a tax return preparation business known as Universal Tax Services (“UTS”) located in Hyattsville, Maryland. During that time period, Binion assisted numerous tax payers in minimizing their tax liability by fabricating or inflating expenses claimed on their tax return, including charitable contributions, employee business expenses and miscellaneous expenses such as tax advice, investment counseling and job search expenses. Binion created false charitable contribution receipts that were given to his taxpayer-clients to support the fabricated expenses. Binion also routinely overstated cash and non-cash contributions well in excess of the amounts his clients reported to him. He identified numerous clients as being self-employed- and filed fraudulent Schedule C - when the clients were not self-employed and never claimed to be.
These false deductions and expenses lowered Binion’s clients tax liabilities, resulting in substantially larger refunds than the clients were entitled to receive. Binion thus gilded his reputation and expanded his tax practice.
Binion faces a maximum sentence on each count of three years in prison followed by one year of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte has scheduled sentencing for November 1, 2007 at 9:30 a.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan E. Foreman and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Del Wright, who are prosecuting the case.