Tax Preparer Sentenced for Filing False Tax Refunds Using Client Identities

It’s a story we’ve come to know so well. The friendly tax preparer who you think you can trust ends up filing false returns and having your money deposited into his account. Once again, we see another preparer, this time unlicensed, doing the wrong thing the wrong way. Job Lopez was sentenced to 6 months of jail to be followed by three years of supervised release. Most of his clients are Hispanic migrant workers who relied on him for his purported tax expertise. Lopez made multiple false claims that totaled $47,489.20 in tax returns to the IRS to get federal tax refunds issued in the names of several clients by using their names, signatures and Social Security numbers without their knowledge or approval. Among other things, the defendant was ordered not to prepare tax returns or help people get Individual Tax Identification Numbers, the process of which has come to a near-screeching halt due to actions like this.

(http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/tax-preparer-sentenced-fraudulent-tax-refunds-identity-theft-taxprotoday-63202-1.html)