South Carolina Tax Preparer Sentenced To 30 Months In Prison For Preparing False Returns

WASHINGTON - Teresa Little Moss, a tax return preparer from McCormick, S.C., was sentenced today to 30 months in prison by U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs in Greenville, S.C., the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

On Oct. 14, 2010, Moss, formerly known as Teresa Waller Little, pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. According to court documents, Moss owned and operated The Little Tax Shop, a tax return preparation business with locations in McCormick and Abbeville, S.C.. The business served clients from throughout the state. For tax years 2004 through 2007, she willfully prepared, and aided and assisted in the preparation of, materially false tax returns for numerous clients.

The charges to which Moss pleaded guilty relate to the 2005 and 2006 tax returns of a particular client. The tax loss associated with these charged counts was $18,977. Including relevant conduct, the tax loss associated with this case was $557,429.

Acting Assistant Attorney General John A. DiCicco of the Justice Department’s Tax Division commended the investigative efforts of the IRS agents involved in the case and Tax Division trial attorneys Tracy Gostyla and Michelle Petersen, who prosecuted the case.

More information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts is available at http://www.justice.gov/tax/.