Tax Preparer Gets 18 Months for Filing False Returns

A California tax preparer has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and one year of probation for preparing and filing false tax returns with the IRS.

Maria Ophelia Pinzon-Virula entered a guilty plea before U.S. District Court Judge A. Howard Matz on Monday. Along with the prison sentence, the judge ordered her to pay approximately $223,709 in restitution.  

Between 2002 and 2006, Pinzon-Virula operated a tax prep business named Public Assistant Income Tax in Long Beach, Calif. Prosecutors accused her of preparing at least 103 tax returns containing false information, including fake deductions, Earned Income Credit claims, and refund claims ranging from $1,797 to $4,085.

Pinzon-Virula is scheduled to surrender herself to the Bureau of Prisons on Sept. 21.

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Tax practice
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