Former Rochester Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty To Preparing False Tax Returns

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051

ROCHESTER, N.Y.- Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Frank Wilson, 56, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty to assisting in the preparation of false tax returns before Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Field, who is handling the case, stated that Wilson operated a tax preparation business in Rochester that was affiliated with a tax return preparation business in Georgia. From February 2011 to April 2011, the defendant prepared at least 18 false tax returns claiming fraudulent total refunds of at least $90,508. Among other things, the false tax returns included inaccurate Schedule C income, in an attempt artificially to inflate the amount of the Earned Income Tax Credit claimed by Wilson’s clients.

The plea is the result of an investigation by Special Agents with the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations Division, under the direction of James D. Robnett, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Office.

Sentencing is scheduled for September 21, 2017, at 3:00 p.m. before Judge Geraci.