April 16, 09

NEWS / Bronx Return Tax Preparer Indicted for Aiding in Preparation of False Tax Returns

WASHINGTON – Alexander Tajong, a Bronx, N.Y.-based return preparer, was charged today with twenty counts of willfully aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of false income tax returns for 10 of his clients during the 2002 and 2003 tax years, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

According to the indictment, from approximately 2002 to April 2004, Tajong, operating under the name "Tajong Accounting and Tax Services," prepared tax returns for his clients based upon identification, Forms W-2, and Forms 1099 provided by the clients. Tajong then falsified the taxpayers’ returns by including inflated and fictitious deductions, exemptions, credits and losses on the returns. All 20 fraudulent returns charged in the indictment include falsified Schedule A deductions and expenses. This false information lowered the taxpayers’ tax liabilities and resulted in thousands of dollars of unwarranted tax refunds.

An indictment is merely a formal charge by the grand jury. Each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in U.S. District Court. If convicted, the defendant faces maximum potential sentences of 60 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines.

The case is being prosecuted by Tax Division attorneys Nanette L. Davis, who is an Assistant Chief in the Northern Criminal Enforcement Section, and Diana Beinart. The case was investigated by the IRS, Criminal Investigation Division.

Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/. Additional information about tax fraud schemes to watch out for may be found on the IRS Criminal Investigation Web site.

Tags: criminal investigation,