Texas Woman Sentenced to Prison for Tax Fraud

Manager of North Carolina Tax Preparation Business Underreported Net Profits

A Fulshear, Texas, woman was sentenced to 40 months in prison today following her conviction on three counts of filing false federal tax returns and one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

Tamny Denise Westbrooks, 53, was convicted in November 2015 after a four-day jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.  According to the evidence at trial and court documents, Westbrooks was the day-to-day manager of JATS Tax Service, a tax preparation business located in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Westbrooks, who worked for JATS as an independent contractor, underreported her net profits by inflating her business expenses for tax years 2007, 2008 and 2009.  She also obstructed and impeded the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by filing false tax returns for herself and others and by paying workers in cash while failing to file the required W-2 or 1099 forms reporting their compensation. 

In addition to her term of imprisonment, Westbrooks was ordered to serve one year of supervised release and to pay restitution in the amount of $273,460 to the IRS.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case and Trial Attorneys Sean Beaty and Mara Strier of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.  Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Texas for their substantial assistance.