A Minnesota woman, Kymberly Starr, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for preparing false tax returns on behalf of her clients. Starr, who owned and operated The Tax Lady in Maryland, inflated her clients' tax refunds by submitting false tax returns to the IRS, resulting in approximately $400,000 of tax loss.

Furthermore, Starr obtained over $83,000 in COVID-19-related Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans through fabricated IRS forms and filed a false claim for unemployment insurance with the Maryland Department of Labor, receiving over $55,000.

U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang for the District of Maryland sentenced Starr to prison and ordered her to serve one year of supervised release. Additionally, she is required to pay approximately $539,043 in restitution to the United States and Maryland.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division announced the sentencing. The IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation, while Trial Attorneys Shawn Noud and Ezra Spiro of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.