Anderson County Man Indicted on Federal Income Tax Charges

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

TYLER, Texas – A 37-year-old Palestine, Texas man has been charged with federal income tax violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.

Jefferson Kincade appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge K. Nicole Mitchell today and was released on an unsecured bond.  Kincade was indicted on Jan. 21, 2015, and charged with 31 counts of preparing income tax returns with false statements in them, six counts of theft of government money, and six counts of aggravated identity theft.

According to information presented in court, Kincade prepared tax returns for individuals at a tax preparation business, EZ Tax, in Palestine, Texas.  Kincade is alleged to have devised a scheme to prepare false tax returns, steal clients' refunds, and use the clients' and other individuals' identities to accomplish the theft.  The indictment alleges that the goal of Kincade's false statements and representations in the tax returns that he submitted was to increase the amount of tax refunds to which the taxpayer would be entitled.  All of these false statements and representations were about material matters, including such matters as filing status, dependents, wages, farm losses, business losses, withholding, education credits, distribution codes on retirement distributions, and itemized deductions.  The indictment also alleges that Kincade was able to intercept the government tax refunds for his own benefit by printing the refund checks, not giving them to his clients, and then cashing them with the assistance of two individuals who were not associated with EZ Tax.  This process involved Kincade's delivering refund checks along with his clients' identification information to an acquaintance who was also a client.  Kincade's acquaintance would then deliver the checks to a third person, who owned a check cashing business located in Tyler, Texas.  This third individual would cash the checks and give the cash to Kincade's acquaintance, and the acquaintance would deliver the cash to Kincade, who would keep the money.

                If convicted, Kincade faces up to three years in federal prison for each of the 31 counts of preparing false tax returns, up to 10 years in federal prison for each of the six counts of theft of government money, and up to two years in federal prison for each of the six counts of aggravated identity theft.

            Kincade was arrested by Texas Department of Public Safety.  This case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Gibson.

                A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.