Maurice Kelly, of Detroit, pleaded guilty today to one count of aiding and abetting the filing of a false tax return and filing a false personal tax return, signed under penalties of perjury, announced United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade.

McQuade was joined in an announcement by Special Agent in Charge Erick Martinez, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.

According to court records, during 2005 through 2009, Kelly worked as a tax return preparer with various tax services in the Detroit area. While preparing tax returns, Kelly knowingly included false medical deductions, charitable contributions, unreimbursed employee expenses, and student loan interest expenses. Kelly also sold, to some of his clients, names and social security numbers of individuals which were falsely listed on tax returns as dependents, thereby increasing the amount of the taxpayers' refunds from the Internal Revenue Service. In total, Kelly prepared and filed thirty-two income tax returns with a tax loss of over $76,000.

According to court records, Kelly also knowingly claimed false dependents on his personal 2006, 2007, and 2008 income tax returns, signed under penalties of perjury, creating a tax loss of $9,289 to the IRS.

"At the IRS, protecting taxpayer money is a matter we take extremely seriously," said Erick Martinez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service. "So select your return preparer wisely, and remember that everybody loses when there is fraud involved."

Aiding and abetting the filing of a false tax return carries a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment and a $100,000 fine. Filing a false tax return, signed under penalties of perjury, carries a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

The case was investigated by special agents of the IRS Criminal Investigation.

 

 

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