A man from Augusta, Georgia, has pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud conspiracy related to a fraudulent tax preparation business. Allen Brown, 41, admitted to operating as a "ghost" preparer, failing to identify himself as a paid preparer on federal income tax returns he filed for clients.
Tara M. Lyons, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, stated that Brown now faces up to 20 years in prison, along with supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.
The plea agreement reveals that between 2022 and 2023, Brown ran his illicit operations at multiple locations in Augusta: 1850 Gordon Highway, Suite C; a church; and his residence. As a "ghost" preparer, Brown manipulated client income figures to qualify them for tax credits and fabricated deductions to increase refund amounts. He charged clients based on the percentage of the refunds but did not provide them with copies of their tax returns or review them before filing.
Brown's scheme involved falsifying 63 federal income tax returns resulting in over $1 million in false refunds issued by the U.S. Department of Treasury. Clients were offered two filing options: the "Standard" option yielding fraudulent refunds between $2,000 and $9,000 and the "I’m Not Scared" option producing larger fraudulent refunds ranging from $14,000 to $30,000. Under these schemes, false claims were made regarding Fuel Tax Credits and other expenses.
The investigation is being conducted by the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation division and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney George J.C. Jacobs III.