U.S. Department of Justice Alice H. Martin United States Attorney Northern District of Alabama

TAX CHEAT GETS TIME TO THINK ABOUT CRIME

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Alice H. Martin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, and James D. Vickery, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, announce that RICKEY DORSEY,44, of Birmingham, Alabama, was sentenced today for filing false income tax returns.

DORSEY was sentenced by United States District Judge David Proctor to serve a prison sentence of 37 months. Following his release, DORSEY will be supervised by the Court for an additional three-year period, during which he will be required to pay more than $39,000 in restitution, $3,000 in fees, and perform 40 hours of community service.

According to U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin, this case began when IRS officials in Memphis, Tennessee, noticed too many similarities in certain tax returns that had been prepared by DORSEY, who worked as a manager of a Birmingham-area fast food restaurant and as a self-employed tax preparer. A subsequent investigation by IRS Special Agent Pam McClain determined that DORSEY prepared numerous tax returns throughout the 2001 and 2002 tax years, by using fictitious W-2 forms and fake deductions for medical expenses and charitable contributions. Once the tax forms were completed, DORSEY then would electronically file the returns, requesting refunds to be deposited into bank accounts he controlled. In all, DORSEY submitted a total of 64 false returns and received more than $39,000 in illegal tax refunds.

"I commend IRS officials for their keen eye in reviewing these fraudulent returns," said U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin. "Jail was an appropriate consequence for trying to cheat by this tax preparer."

The case was investigated by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William G. Simpson.

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