Owner Of Winter Park Tax Business Sentenced To 36 Months In Federal Prison For Filing Fraudulent Tax Returns

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Leslie Muniz to 36 months in federal prison for aiding and abetting the filing of false federal income tax returns. Muniz was also ordered to pay $1,615,143 in restitution to the United States.

Muniz had pleaded guilty on August 20, 2019.

According to court documents, between 2012 and 2016, Muniz owned and operated Royalty Tax Services, a tax preparation business located in Winter Park. During this time, in order to inflate her clients’ refunds, Muniz prepared, or caused her employees to prepare, hundreds of fraudulent tax returns for clients claiming false itemized deductions and fake Schedule C businesses and business losses. Muniz then used tax preparation numbers assigned to her employees to file the fraudulent tax returns with the IRS to avoid having the returns traced to her. When employees at Royalty Tax Services questioned Muniz about her tax practices or her use of their tax preparation numbers, she fired them. The total loss to the United States as a result of Muniz’s conduct was more than $1.6 million.

This case was investigated by IRS – Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chauncey A. Bratt.