A tax preparer from New Jersey, was arrested for filing 1,387 tax returns falsely, and claiming more than 124 million dollars in COVID-19 employment tax credits.
The tax returns this tax preparer filed claimed false credits on behalf of his clients. He told his clients that the government was giving out COVID relief funds for businesses and that they qualified simply because they had a business. Without discussing the returns with his clients, he submitted forms that grossly overstated the number of employees and wages paid. He submitted similar returns for three of his own companies.
Based on his own tax returns, he was sent multiple checks from the US Treasury totaling more than one million dollars. His clients received more than 31.6 million dollars in refunds, for which he charged a 15% fee. The majority of his clients paid the fee in cash.
Each count of preparing and submitting a false tax return carries a maximum prison sentence of three years along with a $250,000 fine.