LOCAL TAX RETURN PREPARER PLEADS GUILTY TO FALSIFYING RETURNS

(HOUSTON) – Local tax return preparer Kimyosia Michelle Byrd has pleaded guilty to preparing false tax returns for local clients that inflated their income tax refunds by approximately $300,000 during 2004–2006, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today. Byrd did business under the names Tax Services by BK and Affinity Tax Services.

Byrd appeared for a re-arraignment hearing today before United States District Judge David Hittner. She stipulated that in an effort to build a reputation for generating large federal income tax refunds for her clients, she knowingly prepared and electronically filed a number of false federal income tax returns that generated excessive refunds for clients for tax years 2004 through 2006. These returns included materially false business loss deductions that were intended by Byrd to cause, and did cause, aggregate losses to the United States Treasury of approximately $300,000.

Specifically, Byrd stipulated that on Feb. 12, 2005, she knowingly and willfully prepared and electronically filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) a false 2004 U.S. Individual Income Tax Return – Form 1040 that included a materially false business loss deduction in an effort to obtain an excessive federal income tax refund for a client without the client’s assent.  Byrd acknowledged the IRS suffered a loss of approximately $13,837 as a result of the filing of this false tax return. 

Byrd faces up to three years in prison and $250,000 fine at sentencing, which is scheduled for June 23, 2010.

The investigation leading to the charges against Byrd was conducted by the Houston Office of the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jimmy Sledge Jr.

 

 

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