RICHMOND, Va. - Daniel L. Jones, age 56, of Fredericksburg, Virginia was sentenced today to 37 months’ imprisonment for aiding in the preparation of fraudulent tax returns for his clients and making a false statement to the Internal Revenue Service.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Kelly, of the Internal Revenue Service, Washington Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Robert M. Geary of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the sentencing before United States District Judge Robert E. Payne.
According to court documents, Jones ran a tax preparation service for many years in Fredericksburg called the Tax Doctor Plus. To increase refunds for his clients, Jones regularly prepared and electronically filed tax returns that contained false entries and items. These included: (a) improperly splitting married couples into incorrect filings statuses in order to place both taxpayers into lower tax brackets and create earned income credit opportunities for both; (b) filing false Schedules C, Business Income or Loss, with enough false deductions so that the client would qualify for the earned income tax credit; (c) submitting false Schedule A expenses and education credits when there was no basis to claim such deductions or credits; and (d) false income with false W-2’s to qualify the taxpayers for the maximum amount of government credits, such as the earned income credit, various education credits, and the making work pay credit.
In addition, in order to represent his clients before the Internal Revenue Service, Jones submitted to the IRS false Forms 2848 (Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative) on which he falsely claimed he was a certified public accountant. He has agreed that the total tax loss from 2009 to 2012 is approximately $598,000. This amount was based on approximately 630 returns containing false educational credits.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the United States Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney David T. Maguire is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:14-cr-049.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
