Tax Return Preparers Plead Guilty To Filing False Tax Returns

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced that Gregory Doneal Mack, 56, of Charlotte, appeared in federal court today and pleaded guilty to preparing false tax returns while working for a tax return preparation business.  The owner of the tax preparation business, Sean Dalton Williams, 48, of Charlotte, previously pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting the preparation of a false tax return.

U.S. Attorney Murray is joined by Matthew D. Line, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI), in making today’s announcement.

“Tax preparers are the gatekeepers of our tax system, tasked with safeguarding its integrity and complying with our nation’s tax laws, not using their expertise to help clients evade their tax obligations at the expense of honest taxpayers. My office’s tax prosecutors are dedicated to uncovering tax fraud and holding cheats accountable for their actions,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.

“Taxpayers should choose carefully when hiring a tax return preparer.  While most return preparers are honest and provide excellent service, a few unscrupulous tax preparers file false returns to defraud the government and their clients.  All taxpayers should know that IRS Criminal Investigation will vigorously pursue those dishonest tax return preparers and hold them accountable for their illegal actions,” said Special Agent in Charge Line.

According to filed plea documents and today’s plea hearing, from 2012 to 2017, Mack worked as a tax return preparer at SW Financial Group (SWFG), a Charlotte-area tax preparation business owned and operated by Williams.  According to court records, while working at SWFG, Mack and Williams prepared fraudulent U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns, Forms 1040, and related IRS Schedules and Forms, that contained fabricated and/or fraudulent items on Schedules A and C. As a result, the defendants’ clients’ tax liabilities were reduced, resulting in inflated refunds. 

According to court records, the tax loss to the government associated with the inaccurate tax returns prepared by Mack for tax years 2012 to 2017 is approximately $282,967.  The tax loss associated with the fraudulent tax returns prepared by Williams for tax years 2012 to 2015 is $276,540.  Court records show that during the time that Williams perpetrated the tax fraud, he was also on pretrial release on federal charges related to a mortgage fraud scheme.

Both defendants pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting the preparation of a false tax return. The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  A sentencing date for Mack and Williams has not been set. 

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  In a separate case, Cletise Hammonds, 48, of Charlotte, has pleaded guilty to preparing false tax returns.  Court documents filed in this case show that, from 2011 to 2017, Hammonds owned and operated Accurate Tax and Bookkeeping LLC (Accurate Tax), a tax preparation business located in Charlotte.  As Hammonds previously admitted in plea documents, through Accurate Tax, Hammonds prepared and filed false tax returns for clients that included fraudulent Schedule C income expenses, education credits, and dependents, among other things.  The false and fraudulent items resulted in the fraudulent reduction of the clients’ tax liabilities, and the receipt of fraudulently inflated refunds. According to court records, Hammonds charged between $200 to $700 for preparation of tax returns, and his tax preparation fees were taken directly from the clients’ tax refunds. According to court records, the tax loss associated with the fraudulent returns prepared and filed by Hammonds is $329,568. Hammonds has pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns and is currently awaiting sentencing.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray commended IRS-CI for handling these investigations. 

Assistant United States Attorney Caryn Finley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the cases.