Sacramento tax-preparer convicted of filing false tax returns
A Sacramento tax-preparer was convicted at U.S. District Court in Sacramento on six counts of making false claims to the Internal Revenue Service. The guilty verdict was delivered to Leticia Tyshalle Marie Reed, 47, of Sacramento yesterday.
As a paid tax preparer who was registered with the IRS, in 2014 and 2015, Ms. Reed prepared and submitted federal income tax returns for Sacramento-based clients, relating to tax years 2013 and 2014. These tax returns requested tax refunds to which the clients were not entitled.
Reed deliberately manipulated the reported income on each tax return by either inflating it or fabricating it altogether, in order to qualify her clients for the maximum refundable tax credits available. Based on these falsehoods, each return that Reed submitted sought thousands of dollars in tax refunds from the IRS.
At times, the refunds requested were almost half of the annual income claimed. Reed would then take a substantial portion of any tax refunds that issued as compensation for preparing her clients’ Form 1040s.
Reed faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the six counts. Sentencing is scheduled for February 1, 2024.
