David X. Sullivan, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Harry Chavis, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, have announced that Clyde Gibson Jr., a 43-year-old from Hartford, has pleaded guilty to a federal tax fraud charge. The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Sarah F. Russell in New Haven.
Court documents reveal that from at least 2015 through 2024, Gibson operated as a tax return preparer under the name Build Understand Destroys LLC. He charged clients fees for preparing their tax returns and prepared thousands of federal tax returns during this period. Many of these returns contained false deductions. For instance, some returns included fabricated Schedules C and D to falsely report business expenses and capital losses that did not occur.
The investigation involved an undercover federal agent who posed as a customer with Gibson. The agent provided a W-2 form for the 2021 tax year without additional information on deductions or losses. Initially, Gibson prepared an accurate return indicating taxes owed by the agent but later altered it to include fraudulent information on Schedules C and D.
Between 2016 and 2022, Gibson prepared at least 135 fraudulent tax returns resulting in a loss of $125,197 to the IRS. He pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in preparing false income tax returns—a crime carrying up to three years imprisonment. Released on a $25,000 bond pending sentencing, which is yet unscheduled, Gibson has agreed to pay restitution totaling $125,197.
The Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation Division conducted this investigation with Assistant U.S. Attorney Elena L. Coronado prosecuting the case.
