An Alabama woman was sentenced to 72 months in prison for filing false federal tax returns.
Laquanda Gilmore Garrott, 39, of Montgomery, Alabama, was also ordered to pay $56,897.00 in restitution.
Filing False Federal Tax Returns
According to trial evidence, Garrott operated a tax preparation business. The government proved that Garrott knowingly put false information on multiple tax returns in order to increase refunds for clients, which also increased her own tax preparation fees.
In one case, Garrott falsely claimed that a client lost more than $30,000 on a lawn care company even though she knew her client had no such business. By including the false business losses, Garrott was able to offset the client’s taxable income and make the client eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Photo by Pepi Stojanovski on Unsplash
The Stance of the IRS
“Ms. Garrott stole money from the federal treasury when she filed false federal income tax returns, a crime that affects all of us,” U.S. Attorney Louis V. Franklin Sr. said in a statement.
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Photo by Mitch Lensink on Unsplash
