Cheryl Singleton, Tax Return Fraud, Georgia 2016
Atlanta Tax Preparer Sentenced for $20M Tax Return Scam
An Atlanta-based tax return preparer has been sentenced to 150 months in prison for filing tax returns fraudulently claiming more than $20 million in refunds.
Cheryl Singleton, 29, owned and operated Advanced Tax Services, a tax preparation business with multiple locations throughout the Atlanta area. Singleton hired and trained employees to prepare fraudulent tax returns and encouraged them to manipulate the numbers to maximize their clients’ refunds.
From 2011 through 2016, Singleton and her employees included false dependents and fraudulent Schedule C businesses on their clients’ returns in order to inflate their refunds.
Singleton and her employees also manipulated other individuals into providing their personal identification information by telling them they could qualify for an “Obama Stimulus” payment. They used these individuals’ personal identification information to file fraudulent income tax returns in their names, without their knowledge or consent.
In addition, Singleton and her employees attempted to defraud USAA, a financial institution serving military members and their families, out of more than $421,000 in fraudulent loans and lines of credit. They used stolen and fake identities to try and open accounts, obtain credit cards and obtain loans from USAA.
Singleton previously pleaded guilty on Aug. 2, 2016 to wire fraud. In addition to the prison term imposed, Singleton was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $5,100,129.41 in restitution, including $4,944,524 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and $105,597 in restitution to USAA.
“We commend the special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Melanie Smith of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Samir Kaushal of the Northern District of Georgia, who prosecuted this case,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg and U.S. Attorney John A. Horn.
Mandatory Facts:
- Defendant: Cheryl Singleton
- Criminal Charges: Wire Fraud
- City and State: Atlanta, Georgia
- Date: August 2, 2016
- Sentence: 150 months in prison, 3 years supervised release, $5,100,129.41 restitution
Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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