Federal Jury Convicts Tax Preparers

DALLAS — Following a nearly two-week-long trial, two local tax preparers were convicted this morning by a federal jury in Dallas, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas

Carolyn Joy Clark, the owner of Action E-File service, a tax preparation business with three locations in Irving and Grand Prairie, Texas, was convicted on one count of assisting in the preparation of a false tax return. Mickey Joe Perez, a manager and tax preparer, was convicted on seven counts of the same. Eight former employees have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing: Frances Rodriguez Pineda, Maritza Munoz Villanueva, Clara Elizabeth Carcamo, Hugo Molino, Ivette Ramirez, Jose Paleo, Leslie Cisnero, and Veronica Torres.

The government presented evidence that during the years 2008 through 2010, Action E-File Services electronically filed 54,760 income tax returns for customers. According to testimony from six of the former employees who pleaded guilty, approximately 75 to 90 percent of the returns they prepared contained false deductions or credits.

Further evidence at trial revealed that during this same period, Clark, 72, received $5.5 million in fees from the bank that processed Refund Anticipation Loans for her many customers.

Each count of conviction for Clark and Perez carries a maximum statutory sentence of three years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for November 7, 2014.

Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Stokes and J. Nicholas Bunch prosecuted.