Rocky Mount Tax Return Preparer Sentenced for Filing False Tax Refund Claims

RALEIGH – Robert J. Higdon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announces that today in Federal court, United States District Judge James C. Dever III sentenced AMBER GERNELL PORTER, 32, of Rocky Mount, North Carolina to 12 months and 1 day imprisonment, followed by 1 year of supervised release.  PORTER was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $14,738.00.

PORTER was named in a Criminal Information filed on October 10, 2018 which charged her with making and presenting a false, fictitious and fraudulent claim for Federal income tax refund. On November 14, 2018, PORTER pled guilty to the charge.

According to the IRS investigation, PORTER was a tax return preparer at the now-defunct “Everyday Taxes” and “T & T Taxes” in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.  Between approximately 2011 and 2015, PORTER and other tax preparers prepared fraudulent tax returns by using false income, withholdings, education credits, and dependents for the purpose of artificially inflating the tax refund amount.  In addition, PORTER used her mother’s identity to illegally obtain and use a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN).

Investigation of this case was conducted by IRS-Criminal Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Toby Lathan prosecuted the case for the government.