September 3, 2010
COLORADO SPRINGS ACCOUNTANT SENTENCED FOR PREPARING FALSE TAX RETURNS
DENVER – Steven DeHaven, age 58, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was sentenced this morning by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Wiley Y. Daniel to serve 36 months in federal prison for aiding in the preparation of a false tax return, United States Attorney John Walsh and IRS Criminal Investigation Denver Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Sigerson announced. DeHaven was also ordered to pay $141,951 in restitution to the IRS. The defendant, who is free on bond, was ordered to report to a facility designated by the Bureau of Prisons on or before October 8, 2010.
Steven DeHaven was charged by Information April 9, 2010, where he waived his right to be indicted by a federal grand jury. He pled guilty before Chief Judge Daniel on June 10, 2010. He was sentenced today, September 3, 2010.
According to the stipulated facts contained in the Information and subsequent plea agreement, DeHaven received his Colorado Certified Public Accountant’s license in 1984, and has worked in the accounting field for approximately 25 years. Beginning in 2004, DeHaven began operating a tax preparation business, Steven DeHaven CPA, from an office in his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado. From 2004 through approximately April, 2007, Mr. DeHaven assisted a number of his clients with the preparation and filing of materially false and fraudulent tax returns. Often, the clients were not aware of the false and fraudulent nature of these returns. These returns included some combination of Schedules A which contained false information about various deductions, including false or inflated deductions for charitable contributions and un-reimbursed employee business expenses, Schedules C which contained information about non-existent businesses, and Schedules D which contained false information about deductions for non-business bad debts. The purpose and effect of these false or inflated deductions was to increase the sizes of the refunds DeHaven’s clients would receive.
DeHaven assisted in the preparation of at least 84 returns, for the tax years 2003 through 2006, containing the types of false information described above. The total tax due and owing for these returns is $141,951.
One of these returns was filed on April 12, 2005, when DeHaven did willfully aid and assist in, and procure, counsel, and advise the preparation and presentation to the Internal Revenue Service, of a 2004 U.S. Individual Form 1040 Income Tax Return in the names of Joseph J. and Lynn C. Chesla. The 2004 returns were false and fraudulent as to material matters, in that the return falsely stated in Schedule A that Joseph J. and Lynn C. Chesla made charitable contributions of $4,288 and incurred unreimbursed employee business expenses of $16,745. It further states that the defendant falsely stated in Schedule D that Joseph J. and Lynn C. Chesla incurred non-business bad debt of $3,000, when, as the defendant well knew, the taxpayers did not make the charitable contributions and did not incur the un-reimbursed employee business expenses listed in Schedule A and did not incur the non-business bad debt listed in Schedule D.
“Fraud in the preparation of tax returns is not only fraud on the U.S. but also upon all the people of the U.S. who pay their taxes fair and square,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “Prosecuting this type of case sends a clear message that we all face the same obligations under the law for preparing tax returns and paying our taxes.”
“While most return preparers provide quality service to their clients, a few unscrupulous tax preparers file false and fraudulent returns to defraud the government, the taxpaying public, and their own clients. Taxpayers should be very careful in selecting the tax professional who will prepare their returns,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Denver Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Sigerson.
This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS CI). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Kirsch.
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