TENNESSEE
Two “Mo Money” tax return preparers plead guilty to preparing false tax returns for customers, admitting that what they did caused losses to the IRS of more than $250,000 but less than $500,000, according to officials.
Both plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return, officials said.
According to court documents, Jeremy Blanchard, 35, and Erik Pittman, 35, both of Memphis, Tennessee, and others prepared numerous false tax returns for the 2011 tax year for customers of their tax return preparation business.
Blanchard, who pleaded guilty Wednesday, and Pittman, who pleaded guilty today, were preparers in Mo Money Taxes, which operated three locations in the Richmond, Virginia area.
Blanchard and Pittman admitted that they created and inflated fictitious and fraudulent tax credits, including the Earned Income Credit and the American Opportunity credit, to claim tax refunds that customers were not entitled to receive.
“Fraudulent tax return preparers, like Mr. Blanchard and Mr. Pittman, are facilitating the theft of funds from the American people by preparing false tax returns for customers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline Ciraolo. “The department will continue to pursue and prosecute these offenders to the fullest extent of the law.”
Blanchard and Pittman each face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge and three years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the charge of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns.
U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney for Virginia set sentencing for June 8, officials said.
Another participant in this scheme, Corey Taylor, 25, of Richmond, plead guilty in October 2015 to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return. He is awaiting sentencing.