New York Tax Preparers Sentenced to Prison

A trio of New York City-area income tax preparers has been sentenced to prison.

The three preparers, who operated under the business name Tri-State Financial Services, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon on Monday for aiding in the preparation of false income tax returns.

James Moye, Jr. was sentenced to four months in prison and one year of supervised release, including four months of home confinement and was ordered to pay restitution of $82,223. 

Audrey Madison was sentenced to four years of probation, including three months of home detention, and was ordered to pay restitution of $25,023.

Quinn Harrison was sentenced to four years of probation and ordered to pay restitution of $19,928.

Moye, Jr., Madison and Harrison were partners in Tri-State Financial Services, a tax preparation business with offices in Queens, Long Island and the Bronx. Each prepared tax returns out of a different office, but had access to the tax returns prepared by the others through a shared database.

In the years 2006 through 2009, according to prosecutors, they prepared tax returns that fraudulently inflated their clients’ deductions for charitable contributions, job expenses and miscellaneous expenses, which offset their clients’ legitimate taxable income.

Each was charged in April of this year with aiding in the preparation of false tax returns and pled guilty.

The case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

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