Former IRS agent Ronald A. Bright pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of assisting in the preparation of a fraudulent tax return.
Bright served as a revenue agent for the IRS for approximately 18 years until he was terminated in 2001. In that capacity he was responsible for detailed knowledge of the federal Tax Code, the proper preparation of tax returns, and the rules for claiming deductions and credits on a federal return, according to prosecutors.
In December 2002, he applied for an Electronic Filing Identification Number and operated a tax preparation business in Wilmington, Del., called Bright’s Accounting and Tax Service, beginning with the 2003 tax-filing seasons. He filed approximately 600 tax returns a year in 2007 and 2008.
A government investigation revealed that Bright routinely included various types of false deductions and credits on his clients’ tax returns, including education credits, Individual Retirement Account deductions, charitable donations, unreimbursed employee business expense deductions, and Earned Income Tax Credits. He also falsely represented that married taxpayers were single or separate heads of household to inflate the standard deductions available, according to prosecutors.
“The thorough and careful investigation of these fraudulently prepared tax returns led to the conviction of Mr. Bright, who used his skills and knowledge of the Tax Code to defraud the government by falsely inflating his clients’ refunds,” said U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly III in a statement. “By holding Bright accountable for his actions, this investigation has stopped Bright from causing taxpayers additional losses.”
Bright now faces up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
3 Comments
Was this a plea bargin? One count of fraud, but a reference to routine behavior. The conviction seems packaged for a press release.
Posted by: JGJ | January 12, 2011 8:22 PM
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1. Longevity is no indicator of competence. Having said that, if you are incompetent you will not last 18 years in the job. Likely was terminated for other reasons: misuse of government travel credit card, insubordination, time & attendance issues, and similar issues unrelated to competence.
2. Believe it or not, the White House (under any administration) does not get involved in the minutiae of field level personnel management. Those are career government workers. Invovlement by any White House administration in the firing of personnel is limited to political appointees or, perhaps, Senior Executive Service level personnel. I'd have to say he got fired because his manager gave him lousy annual appraisals and he made little or no effort to correct the deficiencies; OR something more egregious such as the examples in #1, above.
3. If the process for PTIN is the same as the process for Enrolled Agent status for former IRS employees, then he would not have received the PTIN. If the application process doesn't include that level of detail, then he would have received a PTIN unless he was delinquent in filing and/or paying his taxes.
The press release from the DOJ uses the term IRS Agent loosely. You can't really tell if the man was a tax auditor, a tax assistor in walk-in, etc. The degree of expertise varies among those groups. They use the word "agent" more like you would "representative" rather than job title.
Not busy today, yet so I thought I'd share my thoughts with you.
Posted by: Peldoni | January 12, 2011 12:20 PM
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Clue 1: "Bright served as a revenue agent for the IRS for approximately 18 years until he was terminated in 2001."
Query 1: What was the cause of termination? Political fallout from the Bush regime change or for cause?
Query 2: Would he have been allowed to obtain a Preparer TIN under the new IRS Tax Practitioner registration program if it had existed in 2002?
Posted by: EnrolledAgent | January 12, 2011 7:51 AM
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