TAX PREPARER SENTENCED FOR FRAUD
CURTIS L. ROBERTSON, age 62, a resident of Harvey, Louisiana, was sentenced yesterday in federal court by U. S. District Court Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle to four (4) months incarceration followed by eight (8) months of home detention for previously filing a false tax return with the Internal Revenue Service, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten. ROBERTSON was also ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $37,411.76 and will be on two (2) years of supervised release.
ROBERTSON admitted to preparing and filing a fraudulent tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in order to obtain a fraudulent tax refund. The tax return was fraudulent in that it contained false dependents and income, as well as the taxpayer’s purported address. When ROBERTSON manipulated the income and dependent information, he then qualified the tax return for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The EITC is a refundable tax credit for low-income, working taxpayers and the amount of the credit is based on income, filing status and number of qualifying children, if any. The false income and the false dependent information, along with the credit from the EITC, then made this fraudulent return eligible for a tax refund of $2,350.00 to which the alleged taxpayer was not entitled.
ROBERTSON also admitted that once he received the refund check, he then forged the name of the purported taxpayer onto the refund check, and signed his own name underneath, in order to deposit the check, and then receive cash.
The case was investigated by the Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jon Maestri.
