Rocky Mount Tax Service Owner Sentenced For Tax Fraud

Raleigh – United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court yesterday, United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced TINA LURETHA TYREE JOHNSON, 46, of Rocky Mount, North Carolina to 30 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release.  On July 18, 2013, JOHNSON pled guilty to Tax Fraud and Aiding and Abetting in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 287 and 2.

U.S. Attorney Walker stated, “Our tax system relies on the honesty of tax payers with a heightened duty of honesty expected from professional tax preparers.  Whenever someone like JOHNSON deliberately files false returns, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in support of the IRS will pursue the matter through the Courts as provided by our laws.”

According to the Criminal Information filed on January 31, 2013, JOHNSON, beginning in or about January 2008 and continuing until on or about June 2008, did knowingly make and present, and caused to be made and presented, to the Internal Revenue Service claims against the United States for payment that were false by preparing federal income tax returns for individuals totaling approximately $40,867.00.  Johnson’s sentence was based on all relevant tax fraud conduct, not just the $40,867 list in the Criminal Information, which totaled over $400,000 in actual loss and $1 million in intended loss to the IRS. 

“Filing a truthful, accurate federal tax return is a responsibility that hardworking taxpayers take very seriously, and so should their tax preparers, said Thomas J. Holloman, III, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. This sentence is a clear message to unscrupulous tax return preparers, such as Tina Johnson, that with criminal activity and greed comes severe consequence. I would encourage citizens to avoid being taken advantage of by seeking out credentialed, reputable tax preparers during the current filing season.”

The criminal investigation of this case was conducted by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney David Bragdon is handling the sentencing on behalf of the government.