Virginia Tax Return Preparer Indicted For Aiding In False Tax Return Scheme

A federal grand jury has returned an indictment, which was unsealed today, charging a Roanoke, Virginia tax return preparer with aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns and filing a false personal tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas T. Cullen for the Western District of Virginia.

According to the indictment, Saint Julien Pierre owned and operated a tax return preparation business, JP Tax Services, LLC in Roanoke.  The indictment alleges Pierre aided and assisted in the preparation of 2013 and 2014 tax returns for his clients that falsely claimed residential energy credits, fuel tax credits, and itemized deductions, including, charitable contributions and unreimbursed employee expenses, in order to fraudulently increase their refunds.  The indictment further charges Pierre with filing a false 2013 tax return for himself, on which he fraudulently sought the same fuel tax credit that he falsely claimed on his clients’ returns.

If convicted, Pierre faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison for each count of preparing false tax returns and three years in prison for the count related to his own tax return.  He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.  An indictment is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Cullen thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, Tax Division Trial Attorney Lauren A. Archer and Assistant United States Attorney Charlene R. Day of the Western District of Virginia, who are prosecuting the case.

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