Kansas Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Filing Fraudulent Tax Returns

A former resident of Overland Park, Kansas, pleaded guilty today to aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false income tax returns, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Beall for the District of Kansas.

According to documents filed with the court, Alfred Reece, 58, owned and operated a tax preparation business in Kansas City.  From approximately 2013 through 2015, Reece prepared federal tax returns for individuals, claiming false business income and losses, medical and dental expense deductions, job-related expenses, charitable donations and other fraudulent items.  Reece also concealed himself as the preparer on these fraudulent returns by falsely claiming that they were self-prepared.  Reece admitted to causing a tax loss of between $550,000 and $1.5 million.

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 17, 2018 before U.S. District Court Judge Julie A. Robinson. Reece faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison on each count, as well as a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and U.S. Attorney Beall commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney John T. Mulcahy of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott C. Rask of the District of Kansas, who are prosecuting the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the division’s website.