Annie Bailey, Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, Georgia 2023

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Table of Contents

Thomson, GA – A Mother-Son Tax Prep Duo’s Scheme Unraveled

Augusta, GA – Annie Bailey, 67, and her son Tremarcus Bailey, 43, have been sentenced to prison for filing dozens of fraudulent tax returns, netting them hundreds of thousands of dollars in excess IRS refunds for clients, authorities said.

The Baileys, owners of Bailey’s Tax Service in Thomson, Ga., pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall handed down the sentences, ordering the Baileys to pay restitution of $683,046 and to each serve three years of supervised release upon completion of their prison terms.

“The Baileys’ business was a breeding ground for fraudulent activity, illegally enhancing their customers’ income tax refunds at the expense of the U.S. Treasury,” said U.S. Attorney Steinberg. “Thanks to the investigative work of our law enforcement partners, the Baileys are being held accountable for their criminal behavior.”

According to court documents and testimony, the Baileys used fraudulent and fabricated information when filing tax returns for individual customers from 2014 to 2018, resulting in $683,046 in criminal tax losses to the IRS.

“The sentencings of the Baileys should serve as a notice to dishonest tax preparers that their fraud will eventually be uncovered,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Atlanta Field Office of IRS-Criminal Investigation. “We will continue to investigate and prosecute tax preparers who willfully include false items on tax returns, and this is a reminder to taxpayers to review their return with the preparer for accuracy.”

The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and prosecuted by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry W. Syms Jr.

The prison sentences served as a warning to those who engage in tax preparation scams, with the Baileys facing a total of 51 months behind bars – 21 months for Annie and 30 months for Tremarcus.