Four Tax Preparers Indicted on Tax Fraud Offenses

DALLAS — A federal grand jury in Dallas returned an indictment last week, charging Sunnyvale, Texas, resident, Jimmy Luis Briseno, with thirteen counts of preparing false and fraudulent income tax returns and one count of conspiracy, announced John Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

Special agents with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation (CI) arrested Briseno on those charges, and he made his initial appearance in federal court yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Harris Toliver.

Briseno is charged in a 37-count indictment with tax fraud offenses along with co-defendants, Rene N. Barrera, Sr. of Del Rio, Texas, Mike Cano of Wylie, Texas and Christopher Lee DeLeon of Allen, Texas.  Barrera, Cano and DeLeon are also charged with multiple counts of preparing false and fraudulent income tax returns.  Each codefendant is also charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service, Treasury Department.  Cano and Deleon also made their initial appearance in federal court earlier his week before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Harris Toliver.  Barrera was arrested on Monday in Del Rio, Texas and was detained by the U.S. Magistrate in Del Rio, Texas. 

According to the indictment, Briseno owned and operated Tax Genius, dba K&J Tax Service and Anchondo Tax Service, both located in Garland, Texas. Tax Genius also operated out of a used car dealership located on North Central Expressway in Richardson.  Cano, DeLeon & Barrera were employed as tax preparers with Tax Genius.  Briseno trained each co-defendant how to file false tax returns.

The indictment alleges that from January 2011 through April 2013, the four tax preparers filed at least 36 fraudulent tax returns resulting in a total tax loss of approximately $229,449. The false returns included false Education Credits and false items used to inflate and maximize the Earned Income Credit.

A federal indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury, and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.  Each of the tax offenses, upon conviction, carry a maximum statutory penalty of three years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Restitution may also be ordered.

Internal Revenue Service is investigating.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jarvis is in charge of the prosecution.

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