New Orleans Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty To Filing False IRS Return

NEW ORLEANS – DANIELLE FRANKLIN, age 28, and a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, pleaded guilty on December 5, 2019 to one count of assisting in the preparation of a fraudulent tax return before United States District Court Judge Eldon E. Fallon, announced U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser of the Eastern District of Louisiana.

As charged in the indictment, FRANKLIN prepared a false tax return in 2014 for a client of Cutting Edge Income Tax, located on Airline Drive in Metairie, Louisiana. As part of the scheme, FRANKLIN allegedly falsified the return by including fraudulent business losses when in fact the customer had zero losses and expenses.

Sentencing will be on March 5, 2020. At that time, FRANKLIN faces a maximum sentence of three years, one year of supervised release, and a $100,000 fine for aiding and assisting in the preparation of a fraudulent tax return.

U.S. Attorney Strasser commended the special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation for their handling of the matter. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. Rivera.