Nashville Return Preparer Indicted For Filing False Tax Returns

Robert J. Spears, 35, of Nashville, Tenn., was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury in Nashville, Tenn., for preparing false tax returns and for filing his own fraudulent tax returns, announced Jack Smith, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.

According to the indictment, Spears worked as a salesperson and manager at a telephone call-center and between 2010 through 2012, Spears prepared and filed false tax returns for his coworkers. The returns fraudulently claimed bogus education credits, student loan interest deductions, and child-care expenses, which the taxpayers did not qualify for. The indictment also alleges that Spears stole a substantial portion of the tax refunds issued in his coworkers’ names by diverting the tax refunds to his own personal bank accounts.

Finally, the indictment alleges that Spears filed his own false tax returns for tax years 2010 through 2012 by substantially understating his income.

If convicted, Spears faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison for each count, as well as a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

The case was investigated by the IRS – Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan R. Raybould of the Middle District of Tennessee is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

An indictment is merely an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.