Jefferson County, Kentucky, Tax Return Preparer Charged With Aiding In The Preparation Of False Tax Returns

Falsified taxpayer deductions

Owes Internal Revenue Service $255,938

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A Jefferson County, Kentucky tax preparer pleaded guilty in United States District Court, on March 28, 2016, before Magistrate Judge Colin H. Lindsay, to aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, announced United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.

Defendant Tiffany Elliott admitted to preparing fraudulent tax returns through her business, Tax Time, Inc., between January 5, 2010, and February 15, 2013, by creating false deductions for certain items, including losses from a sole proprietorship, or by creating false earned income from a sole proprietorship, while knowing that the taxpayers were not entitled to claim the specified deductions or earned income from a sole proprietorship.

As a term of the plea, Elliott signed and executed Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 870 to acknowledge she owes $255,938 to the IRS, exclusive of penalties and interest. Further, the charges carry a combined maximum prison term of 48 years, a combined fine of $1,600,000 and a one year term of supervised release.

Sentencing before Chief Judge Joseph H. McKinley Jr. is scheduled for July 5, 2016, in Louisville at 11:00am.

Assistant United States Attorney Amanda E. Gregory is prosecuting the case. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation office is conducting the investigation.

Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2016.  The IRS has some tips on its website for choosing a tax preparer, and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers.  In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers and tax scheme promoters.  Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website.  An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on here.  If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.