A New York tax preparer received a 12-month prison sentence and was ordered to pay $144,604.00 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service after he was convicted of preparing false tax returns.
Jason R. Pastore, 34, of Yonkers, N.Y., formerly of Rochester, N.Y., was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford.
Pastore operated a tax preparation business known as JRP Tax Consultants in Rochester.Without the knowledge of clients, he prepared fraudulent federal income tax returns, according to prosecutors, reporting false charitable contributions and unreimbursed employee expenses on Schedule A, and false business deductions on Schedule C.
For tax years 2008, 2009, and 2010, Pastore prepared approximately 234 fraudulent returns which resulted in the IRS paying more than $400,000 in tax refunds to which the clients were not entitled. He also prepared and filed fraudulent tax returns for himself during the same time period.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by special agents of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Shantelle P. Kitchen, special agent in charge of the New York Field Office.
