Angelo Thompson, Tax Preparer Sentencing, New Jersey 2023
Tax Preparer Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Conspiring to File False Income Tax Returns
A former tax preparer was sentenced to 27 months in prison for his role in a scheme to file false income tax returns, causing a loss of over $1.6 million to the IRS.
Angelo Thompson, 39, of Reistertown, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the IRS and was sentenced in Trenton federal court on April 10, 2023. U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced the sentencing.
According to court documents, Thompson was an employee of Tax Pro’s and Tax Solutions & Associates, tax preparation businesses in Essex and Union counties. He, along with others, conspired to falsify clients’ federal income tax returns to generate refunds from the IRS in amounts that the clients were not entitled to.
The scheme involved fabricating and inflating credits for education and child care, deductions for charitable contributions and unreimbursed employee expenses, and Schedule C business losses. Thompson and his co-conspirators also used paid taxpayer identification numbers to conceal the identity of Joseph Kenny Batts, a co-owner of Tax Pro’s, who had a prior federal tax fraud conviction.
After law enforcement executed a search warrant at Tax Pro’s in April 2015, Batts discontinued the business and opened Tax Solutions and Associates in Union, where Thompson continued to prepare false tax returns.
The conspiracy caused a total tax loss of over $1.6 million to the IRS. In addition to his prison term, Thompson was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $103,320.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation with the investigation leading to Thompson’s sentencing. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cari Fais and Jihee Suh of the Special Prosecutions Division.
Angelo Thompson, Joseph Kenny Batts, Damien Askew, Rudolph Sanders, and Tony V. Russell were all involved in the conspiracy. Askew, Sanders, and Russell have pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme, while Batts was convicted at trial in September 2019. Russell has been sentenced to four years in prison.
The case highlights the importance of ensuring that tax preparers operate with integrity and honesty. The public can report suspected tax fraud to the IRS or local authorities.
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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