Omaha Woman Sentenced for Tax Fraud

United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Lisa R. Holmes, age 42 of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on March 6, 2017, by Chief Judge Laurie Smith Camp. On December 5, 2016, Ms. Holmes entered a plea of guilty to tax fraud. Ms. Holmes was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a one-year term of supervised release, a $100 special assessment and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $48,833.00.

Ms. Holmes was a tax preparer. She created false Schedules C for several clients over a several year time span. In the false Schedules C, Ms. Holmes provided information that the clients had business income that they did not truly have. As a result of the falsification, the clients received a higher tax refund than they would have otherwise been entitled to receive. “While most return preparers provide excellent service to their clients, a few dishonest tax preparers file false and fraudulent returns to defraud the government, the taxpaying public and their own clients,” said Karl Stiften, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation. “Taxpayers should be selective in choosing a return preparer, and have confidence knowing that person will prepare accurate tax returns and safeguard their financial information.”

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations unit.