TYLER, Texas - A 39-year-old Palestine, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
Jefferson Kincade pleaded guilty on Aug. 23, 2016 to fraudulent or false statements in a tax return, theft or conversion of money, and aggravated identity theft. Kincade was sentenced to 102 months in federal prison on Jan. 26, 2017, by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark. Kincade also agreed to a cash forfeiture of $110,919.54
According to information presented in court, Kincade prepared tax returns for individuals at a tax preparation business, EZ Tax, in Palestine, and devised a scheme to prepare false tax returns, steal clients' refunds, and use the clients' and other individuals' identities to accomplish the theft. Kincade's made false statements and representations in the tax returns that he submitted in order to increase the amount of tax refunds to which the taxpayer would be entitled. Kincade was able to intercept the government tax refunds for his own benefit by printing the refund checks, not giving them to his clients, and then cashing them with the assistance of two individuals who were not associated with EZ Tax.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to vigorous enforcement of the internal revenue laws and especially those involving tax preparers such as the defendant in this case who included false statements in returns that he prepared, and then intercepted the inflated refunds," said Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. “These actions caused significant problems for the actual taxpayers, many of whom found that they owed money back to the IRS because of the refund overpayments. IRS-Criminal Investigation worked diligently to investigate the actions of the defendant, determine the extent of his complex fraud activity, and bring him to justice."
"The sentence handed down yesterday highlights the seriousness of the defendant's conduct" said Alfredo Vazquez, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Field Office of IRS, Criminal Investigation. "We will remain vigilant in identifying and investigating those who seek to defraud the American Taxpayers by filing false tax returns. Mr. Kincade defrauded his clients and the IRS for his own personal benefit; and yesterday he was held accountable for his criminal actions."
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Gibson.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
