Carol A. Wright, of Cleveland was sentenced to imprisonment for six months followed by six months of home confinement for aiding and assisting in the preparation of 36 false income tax returns, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

According to court records, Wright is 51 years old and resides in Cleveland, Ohio. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Dan A. Polster.

Wright pleaded guilty to the charges on April 2, 2012. Wright prepared 34 returns for nine clients reporting fictitious or falsely inflated amounts of business income and claiming refunds that were false in their entirety or falsely inflated. Each return contained a Schedule C, Profit or Loss From Business, that reported false amounts of gross receipts, deductions (in some instances), and net profit, according to court records.

Each return then claimed a false or falsely-inflated Earned Income Credit that was computed based on the false amount of reported business income. In addition, some returns claimed a false or falsely-inflated Additional Child Tax Credit. Wright also prepared two false returns for undercover IRS agents posing as clients, according to court documents.

The 36 false returns claimed total refunds, computed using the false tax credits, that were approximately $61,291 more than the total refunds to which the clients (and undercover agents) were entitled, according to court records.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John M. Siegel and Special Assistant United States Attorney Perry D. Mastrocola, following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.

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