David Lee Keithley, Tax Fraud, Missouri 2017

A Columbia, Missouri tax preparer, David Lee Keithley, 63, has been sentenced to two years in federal prison without parole for his role in a fraud scheme that defrauded his clients out of nearly $120,000 and failed to pay his own taxes, totaling nearly $300,000.

Keithley, who owned and operated Keithley and Associates, was hired by his clients to prepare their tax returns and make the necessary tax deposits to the government. However, instead of making the payments, Keithley used the money for his own personal benefit, admitting to using the funds for his own gain.

When clients contacted Keithley after receiving letters from the IRS indicating that their returns had not been filed or taxes had not been paid, he lied to them, telling them he would contact the IRS to correct the issue. The total amount of misappropriated funds is $120,354.

In addition to defrauding his clients, Keithley also admitted to willfully failing to file his own federal income tax returns for tax years 2009 through 2013, owing the IRS $148,423 and the state of Missouri $22,264 in state income taxes for the same years.

The total loss caused by Keithley’s criminal conduct is $291,041.

According to court documents, Keithley has a lengthy criminal history of theft and fraud, including three state felony convictions for thefts from business clients and stealing funds that were supposed to be used for a client’s tax payment.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence E. Miller and investigated by the IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Missouri Department of Revenue.

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