U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
OFFICE OF THE U.S. ATTORNEY
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA


PRESS RELEASE.  Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Contact: Thomas B. Heffelfinger, United States Attorney (612) 664-5600
Karen Bailey, Media Coordinator (612) 664-5610


Minneapolis  - Richard Reiss, a tax preparer from Prior Lake, was charged in a superseding indictment with 86 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns.

The grand jury alleged in the indictment that from March 1999 to April 2002, Reiss prepared tax returns for several clients that showed unauthorized deductions such as unreimbursed employee business expenses, milage expenses, charitable contributions, medical expenses and tax preparation fees, and business losses resulting from business expenses that were fabricated or inflated.  In total, the grand jury alleged that Reiss overstated expenses and deductions for numerous clients by more than $1 million,  which resulted in tax losses of over $232,226.

If convicted, Reiss, age 61, faces a maximum potential penalty of three years in prison and/or a $100,000 fine on each of the 86 counts of the indictment.  Any sentence would be determined by a judge.

The case is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul Murphy.

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Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty. 
 
 

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