College Park Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty To Preparing And Filing False Tax Returns

Greenbelt, Maryland – Julius Valentine Williams, age 61, of College Park, Maryland pleaded guilty today to aiding and assisting in filing false tax returns, filing false tax returns, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Williams’ conduct resulted in a tax loss to the government of at least $1 million.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Kelly of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.

“While most tax return preparers provide excellent service to their clients, a few dishonest return preparers give the industry a black eye. IRS-CI works year round to investigate dishonest return preparers and protect the American taxpayer’s money,” said Thomas J Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Washington D.C. Field Office. “Return preparers must comply with the same tax obligations as the clients that they serve. No one is above the law.”

According to his plea agreement, Williams was a tax return preparer who owned and operated Julius Williams Tax Service out of his home in College Park. During tax years 2007 through 2010, William prepared and submitted to the IRS more than 5,000 client individual tax returns. Many of Williams’ clients were from Jamaica and resided in the United States under a temporary worker program. At the end of their employment, they were required to return to their home countries. Williams admitted that when preparing tax returns for these clients, he added false items, such as false Schedule C businesses, false deductions, false Earned Income tax credits, and false education credits, in order to fraudulently increase the size of the refund to the client.

In addition, Williams kept detailed lists of identification information of former clients who had returned to their home countries, including names, social security numbers and dates of birth. Williams then used that identification information, without the former clients’ knowledge or permission, to claim them as dependents on the income tax returns of current clients, in order to fraudulently increase the refunds on those returns.

Williams also filed false personal tax returns for tax years 2007 through 2010, in which Williams underreported his income from his tax business by a total of more than $1 million. As a result, the tax loss to the government was approximately $411,056, for those years. Williams also used the personal identification information of his former clients to fraudulently claim them as dependents on his personal income tax returns, which increased his refund and resulted in additional the taxes owed to the government.

As a result of the fraudulent tax returns prepared by Williams for his clients, and his own fraudulent returns, the total tax loss to the government is at least $1 million. As part of his plea agreement, Williams and the government have agreed to recommend that the Court order restitution in the amount of $1 million.

Williams faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison for aiding and assisting in filing false tax returns, and for filing false tax returns; a maximum of 20 years in prison for wire fraud; and two years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, for aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm scheduled sentencing for November 25, 2014 at 1:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the IRS-CI for its work in the investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly O. Hayes and Sean Delaney, who are prosecuting the case.