Nevada Return Preparer Charged with Tax Fraud

A federal grand jury in Las Vegas returned an indictment today charging a Nevada woman with assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns.

According to the indictment, from 2015 through 2020, Jessica Avras, of Las Vegas, owned and operated a tax preparation business. Avras allegedly prepared and filed materially false federal income tax returns for clients that fraudulently reduced their federal income tax liability and/or inflated their tax refunds. The indictment charges that Avras routinely reported fictitious businesses on her clients’ returns and claimed that those businesses had generated significant losses. She also allegedly fabricated deductions on her clients’ tax returns, including noncash charitable contributions, sales taxes and unreimbursed employee expenses.

Avras is charged with 31 counts of assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(2), and scheduled for her initial court appearance on Feb. 22, 2023, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brenda Weksler of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Thomas Flynn and Samuel Robins of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Schmale of the District of Nevada are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.