Alabama Man Pleads Guilty to Filing a False Tax Return

A Jefferson County man pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama to filing a false tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town for the Northern District of Alabama.

According to court documents, Larry Wayne Battle owned and operated a tax preparation business in Jefferson County, Alabama. On his 2014 tax return, Battle filed a Schedule C for his tax preparation business that reported gross receipts of $128,000. He understated his gross receipts by approximately $321,638, resulting in a tax loss of $163,401.

“There is zero tolerance for tax preparers who cheat on their own income taxes,” said U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town. “Federal prosecutors in this district will continue to make prosecuting these cases a priority.”

“Return preparers have a duty to be honest and truthful on their tax returns they submit throughout the filing season, including their own,” said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation for the Atlanta Field Office. “This guilty plea is another success in our efforts of defeating the tax cheat and holding them accountable for their actions.”

Sentencing is scheduled for July 30, 2019. Battle faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison, as well as a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Town commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Allison Garnett and Assistant United States Attorney Melissa Atwood, who are prosecuting the case.