Port St. Lucie Resident Charged with Running Fraudulent Tax Preparation Business

A Port St. Lucie resident is charged in a fifty-two count indictment with running a fraudulent tax preparation business in order to file fraudulent tax returns on behalf of her clients and for filing false individual returns on her own behalf.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement.

Dianne Mowatt, 39, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, is charged by indictment with fifty counts of assisting in the filing of false tax returns and two counts of filing false tax returns, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Sections 7206(2) and (1).  If convicted, Mowatt faces a maximum statutory sentence of three years’ imprisonment, a fine of $100,000, and one year of supervised release, as to each count.

According to the indictment, from January 1, 2012 and into 2016, Mowatt owned, operated, or otherwise provided services to Mowatt Financial Services and Proven Tax Services, both being tax return preparation businesses located in Port Saint Lucie and Miami, Florida.  Mowatt prepared and submitted individual tax returns (Forms 1040), with accompanying schedules, to the IRS on behalf of taxpayers claiming false deductions and credits for tax years 2011 through 2014.   Mowatt also filed false individual returns for herself for the tax years 2010 and 2011 by falsely claiming five different people as her dependents. 

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Russell Killinger and Marton Gyires.

An indictment is merely an allegation and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.