TAX PREPARERS CONVICTED OF PREPARING AND FILING
FALSE TAX RETURNS

ATLANTA - Frederick Jenkins and Willie Jenkins were convicted by a federal jury Monday, October 26, 2015, on charges that they conspired to prepare and file false federal tax returns that claimed over $1 million in tax refunds.

“The actions of these defendants reflected a willful disregard for our tax system,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Our citizens will not tolerate tax preparers who abuse the system for their own financial gain, and tax cheats will be investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and, where appropriate, criminally prosecuted.”

“This verdict exemplifies IRS Criminal Investigation’s intense focus on the rigorous pursuit of tax refund fraud,” stated Special Agent in Charge, Veronica F. Hyman-Pillot. “These unscrupulous defendants thought they had devised a clever scheme which preyed on unsuspecting victims and benefited them financially. Return preparers cannot fraudulently steal public money and enrich their bank accounts at the expense of the United States Treasury and other taxpayers and not expect to go unpunished.”

“The Jenkins’ did a disservice to legitimate tax preparers who comply with Georgia Tax Law. We will continue to find and track others who seek to defraud the taxpayers of our state.” said Lynne Riley, State Revenue Commissioner, Georgia Department of Revenue.

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: Since 2006, brothers Frederick and Willie Jenkins owned and operated Global Tax Service LLC (GTS), a tax preparation business with multiple locations throughout the metropolitan Atlanta area, and in other states, including Alabama. During the tax years under investigation, 2008 through 2011, the Jenkins brothers prepared and filed false income tax returns for clients. The false items primarily consisted of fraudulent and fictitious business income and losses in order to inflate tax refunds.

For some clients, the Defendants made up a business that did not exist, and then falsified business expenses to make it appear that the business had lost money. For other clients with established businesses, the Defendants fraudulently added false business expenses. The fraudulent business and business expenses were added by the Defendants without the clients’ knowledge.

The end result was the same: The refunds were inflated. Higher refunds led to more money for the Defendants, who often took a percentage of the refund as their fee. Subsequently, when clients sought copies of their tax returns, Jenkins provided them with altered copies, or refused to give copies all together.

After a 5-day jury trial, the jury found Frederick Jenkins guilty on 11 counts and Willie Jenkins guilty on 7 counts. Both were indicted by a federal grand jury on May 20, 2014.

Sentencing for Frederick Jenkins and Willie Jenkins of Fairburn, Georgia, will be scheduled before United States District Judge Orinda D. Evans at a date, to be determined.

This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and the Georgia Department of Revenue.

Assistant United States Attorneys Bernita B. Malloy and Chris Bly are prosecuting the case.

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