Tax Return Preparer Pleads Guilty To Tax Fraud

ATLANTA - Amberula Levitt pleaded guilty today to two counts of filing false personal tax returns for the 2004 and 2005 tax years. 

“Remarkably, this defendant was preparing tax returns for others while cheating on her own,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates.  “She used her knowledge and expertise of the tax system to try and defraud it.”

“Individuals who evade their tax obligations cheat their country and their fellow citizens,” said Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division.  “The Justice Department will investigate and prosecute tax professionals who use their skills to defraud the Internal Revenue Service.”

"Each of us is responsible for filing correct and accurate tax returns, “stated IRS CI Special Agent in Charge, Veronica F. Hyman-Pillot.  "IRS CI will continue to investigate those individuals who intentionally evade their tax obligations."

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court:  From 2004 through 2010, Levitt owned and operated Tax Time Tax Service (“Tax Time”), a tax preparation business with multiple locations throughout metro Atlanta.  Levitt fraudulently under-reported the earnings from Tax Time on her personal tax returns.  For the years 2004 through 2009, Levitt owes approximately $620,000 in back taxes to the IRS.

The charges for filing a false tax return in this case carry a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count.   In determining the actual sentence, the Court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

Sentencing for Levitt, 44, of East Point, Ga., is scheduled for January 23, 2014, at 10:30 am before United States District Judge Amy Totenberg.

This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.

Trial Attorney Christopher J. Maietta of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant United States Attorney Steven D. Grimberg are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.