A woman in Augusta, Georgia, has pleaded guilty to charges related to preparing and filing false tax returns. Kim Brown, 40, admitted to two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of false income tax returns. Tara M. Lyons, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, announced that Brown could face up to three years in prison for each count. Additionally, she may be subject to supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.
Brown operated a "ghost" tax preparation business from her home in Augusta. She failed to identify herself as a paid preparer on the tax returns she prepared and filed for clients. As part of her fraudulent activities, Brown fabricated income figures to qualify clients for tax credits and claimed fictitious deductions to increase refund amounts. Her fees were based on a percentage of these inflated refunds.
The plea agreement revealed that Brown did not provide copies of the prepared tax returns to her clients nor reviewed them before submission to the IRS. Along with another individual, she was involved in preparing 22 false tax returns resulting in $541,912 in unwarranted refunds issued by the U.S. Department of Treasury.
The case is under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation unit and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney George J.C. Jacobs III.