Florida Return Preparers Sentenced to Prison for Filing Fraudulent Tax Returns

Two Broward County, Florida tax return preparers were sentenced to prison today for conspiring to file and filing fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg for the Southern District of Florida.

Luczor Fertilien, 39, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and David Joseph, 37, was sentenced to 24 months in prison. 

According to documents and information provided to the court, Fertilien, Joseph and Frantz Petit-Dos owned two tax preparation businesses in Lauderhill, Florida: Imperial Taxation and Multi-Services Corp. and Aleluya Universal Accounting Services Inc.  From approximately 2010 through 2016, Fertilien, Joseph and Petit-Dos filed fraudulent returns for their clients seeking refunds to which the clients were not entitled, by reporting fictitious business income, fraudulent education and fuel tax credits and claiming deceased individuals, whose identities were stolen, as dependents.  Fertilien, Joseph and Petit-Dos did not report the illegal proceeds they received from this scheme on their personal tax returns.  The court found that Fertilien and Joseph caused a tax loss of more than $1 million.   

In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas ordered Fertilien and Joseph to each serve three years of supervised release and ordered Fertilien to pay $$1,038,129 in restitution to the IRS and ordered Joseph to pay $1,289,351 in restitution to the IRS.  Fertilien, Joseph and Petit-Dos previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and filing fraudulent tax returns.  Petit-Dos is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 6.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and Acting U.S. Attorney Greenberg thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Karadbil and Assistant Chief Greg Tortella of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the division’s website.