Fort Pierce Tax Preparer Sentenced to Jail for Preparing False Tax Returns and Identity Theft

Fort Pierce tax preparer was sentenced today to 81 months, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for preparing tax returns that included fraudulent information. As part of his sentence, the court ordered Maurival to pay $349,992.00, in restitution to the IRS.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement.

On November 17, 2014, Rony Maurival, 39, pled guilty to four counts related to his filing of false tax returns, one count of theft of government funds, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

According to the indictment and details discussed in open court, from July 2008 to March 2012, Maurival owned and operated “RJ’s Tax & Services,” a tax return preparation business located in Fort Pierce, Florida. Maurival admitted to adding false wage and income information to his client’s tax returns in order to illegally maximize the earned income tax credit (EITC) claimed on their tax returns. The EITC is a refundable tax credit designed to assist low to moderate income taxpayers. Maurival admitted that his actions resulted in a tax loss to the IRS of between $1 million and $2.5 million.

Maurival also admitted to filing his own false tax returns for years 2009 and 2010. Specifically, Maurival admitted to not reporting more than $250,000 in tax preparation fee income earned through his business in those years. Maurival further admitted to using stolen identity information to file false tax returns with the IRS in order to steal money from the United States. In doing so, he would direct the false tax refunds to bank accounts that he controlled.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CI. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Russell R. Killinger and Department of Justice Tax Division Trial Attorney Charles M. Edgar, Jr.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.