A New Jersey accountant and his wife have been sentenced for their roles in filing hundreds of trumped up tax returns to get their clients larger refunds and pocketing some of the profits, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman at a press conference UNION -- A New Jersey accountant and his wife have been sentenced for their roles in filing hundreds of trumped up tax returns to get their clients larger refunds and pocketing some of the profits, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson sentenced Courtney Johnson, 45, in Trenton federal court Thursday to four years in prison for his role as a certified public account in the multi-year tax scheme, Fishman said in a release.
Johnson was fined $50,000 and ordered to pay $10,280 in restitution, Fishman said. He will also serve one year of probation after his release.
His wife Carol, also 45, who ran the business with him, was sentenced on Nov. 5 to three years probation and ordered to pay $93,385 in restitution.
The Union Township couple prepared the fraudulent returns out of their tax preparation business in South Orange and Jersey City between 2005 and 2007, where authorities said they defrauded the Internal Revenue Service of almost $400,000.
According to the release, Johnson used fictitious businesses, inflated charitable donations and fabricated itemized deductions to increase his clients tax returns.
Johnson was convicted on six counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false federal income tax returns in June. Carol Johnson previously pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony, Fishman said.
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