阿拉巴马州报税员为客户报虚假退税被判33个月：税收损失逾160万美元，另赔国税局32.8万美元
美国阿拉巴马州 Montgomery 消息 — 阿拉巴马州 Cowarts 的报税员 Markita Latrice Thornton（40岁）因协助客户准备并提交虚假联邦所得税申报表，11月10日被判处33个月联邦监禁，刑满后另加一年监管释放。阿拉巴马中区联邦检察官 Thomas Govan 与国税局刑事调查局（IRS Criminal Investigation）亚特兰大外勤办公室代理助理特别探员主管 Patrick M. Palmer 宣布了这一判决。联邦监狱系统没有假释。
据认罪协议与法庭记录，Thornton 自2016年起在阿拉巴马州 Dothan 一家报税公司为客户准备税表，通常不在服务时收费，而是从客户的退税中扣除准备费。
认罪协议列举的一个例子是：2022年1月6日，她为一名客户准备并提交联邦税表，虚报一笔10,995美元的营业收入，而她明知该企业并不存在。
Thornton 还承认，2023年2月1日，她为一名患有痴呆症的客户提交虚假税表：虚报一名被扶养人、冒领与该被扶养人相关的教育抵免、申报一笔客户并不符合资格的4,113美元非公路业务燃油税抵免，并虚报一家并不存在的修理企业12,105美元净利润。
她承认自己明知故犯，为客户准备并提交虚假税表，以骗取高于客户依法应得数额的退税。法庭记录显示，认罪协议中列出的两份虚假税表只是其更广泛犯罪行为的一部分，并未涵盖她在整个骗局期间准备并提交的全部虚假税表。
除监禁外，法院责令 Thornton 向国税局支付328,158.34美元赔偿。她在认罪协议中承认，其犯罪行为给政府造成的实际税收损失超过160万美元；她还同意没收76,783.50美元，这是她为调查中查明的纳税人准备虚假税表所获得的收益。
联邦检察官 Govan 表示，报税员有责任提交准确的申报表、维护税收系统的完整性，明知提交虚假信息骗取退税的人将被追责。他同时提醒纳税人，提交前应仔细核对自己的税表：若报税员要求签署空白税表、拒绝以报税人身份签名或不提供税表副本，都应引起警惕。
该案由国税局刑事调查局侦办，助理联邦检察官 Megan A. Kirkpatrick 负责起诉。（来源：美国司法部）
Alabama Tax Preparer Sentenced to 33 Months for Filing False Returns: Tax Loss Topped $1.6 Million, With $328,158 Owed to the IRS
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Markita Latrice Thornton, 40, of Cowarts, Alabama, was sentenced on November 10, 2026, to 33 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of false federal income tax returns on behalf of her clients. United States Attorney Thomas Govan for the Middle District of Alabama and Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge Patrick M. Palmer of IRS Criminal Investigation's Atlanta Field Office announced the sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to her plea agreement and other court records, Thornton began preparing tax returns for clients at a tax preparation business in Dothan, Alabama, in 2016. She generally did not require payment when services were rendered; instead, her preparation fees were deducted from clients' tax refunds before the refunds were issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
In one example in her plea agreement, on January 6, 2022, Thornton prepared and filed a federal income tax return for a client that falsely reported $10,995 in business income from a business she knew did not exist.
Thornton further admitted that on February 1, 2023, she prepared and filed a false return for a client suffering from dementia. That return falsely claimed a dependent, improperly claimed education credits tied to that purported dependent, included a $4,113 fuel tax credit for an off-highway business for which the client was not eligible, and falsely reported $12,105 in net profit from a purported repair business that did not exist.
Thornton admitted she knowingly prepared and filed false returns to generate refunds greater than those to which her clients were legally entitled. Court records state that the two false returns identified in the plea agreement were representative of only a portion of her broader criminal conduct.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered Thornton to pay $328,158.34 in restitution to the IRS. She admitted in her plea agreement that her conduct caused an actual tax loss to the government of more than $1.6 million, and she agreed to forfeit $76,783.50 in proceeds from preparing false returns for taxpayers identified during the investigation.
U.S. Attorney Govan said tax preparers have a duty to file accurate returns and preserve the integrity of the tax system, and that those who knowingly submit false information to obtain fraudulent refunds will be held accountable. He urged taxpayers to review their returns carefully before filing, noting that a preparer who asks a client to sign a blank return, refuses to sign as preparer, or fails to provide a copy should prompt additional scrutiny.
The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan A. Kirkpatrick prosecuted. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
来源：美国司法部
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：位于 Montgomery 的 Frank M. Johnson Jr. 联邦大楼与联邦法院，阿拉巴马中区联邦法院所在地。Carol M. Highsmith 摄，Wikimedia Commons，公共领域。 / Image: The Frank M. Johnson Jr. Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Montgomery, home to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. By Carol M. Highsmith, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
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