Inglewood tax preparer arrested for fraud
mercurynews.com | 2/6/08 | Associated Press
INGLEWOOD, Calif.—A former Internal Revenue Service officer working as a tax preparer in Inglewood has been arrested in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud the government by filing false tax returns.
Anthony Pendleton was arrested Thursday after an undercover probe by IRS investigators who posed as clients at the 58-year-old's Payless Tax Services. A federal court criminal complaint alleges that Pendleton and two employees—who are still being sought by authorities—prepared and submitted false documents and made fake claims on clients' tax forms to inflate refunds.
IRS officials say the fake information included jobs, children and education credits that did not exist. It's also believed Pendleton, a former IRS officer, crafted fake W-2s to report income from nonexistent jobs. Payless is accused of filing 185 false returns for four tax years beginning in 1999, claiming more than $609,000 in refunds.
Staff at Payless could not be reached for comment, as the service's phone had been disconnected. If convicted, the suspects each face a maximum of 10 years in federal prison.