Sacramento tax preparer convicted of inflating clients' income, taking portion of tax returns
SACRAMENTO - A Sacramento tax preparer faces up to five years in prison after a federal jury found her guilty of inflating or fabricating her clients' reported income and taking a portion of their tax refunds issued for compensation, according to federal prosecutors.
Leticia Tyshalle Marie Reed, a 47-year-old tax preparer for Sacramento-based clients and was registered with the IRS, prepared and submitted federal income tax returns for the 2013 and 2014 tax years, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the evidence presented at the trial showed Reed inflated or fabricated her clients' income so that clients would receive the maximum refundable tax credits available. Each return sought thousands of dollars in tax refunds from the IRS.
Some of the refunds requested were nearly half of the annual income claimed, according to prosecutors. Reed would then take a portion of the tax refunds that were issued as compensation for her clients' Form 1040s.
Reed is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 1, 2024, where she faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.