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Kansas City Tax Preparer Sentenced for Filing False Tax Returns
A Kansas City, Mo. woman was sentenced in federal court for filing false tax returns for others.
Tanisha Spencer, 35, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Wimes to 18 months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Spencer to pay $730,709.00 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
This successful prosecution is one of many federal fraud cases pursued under the leadership of President Donald Trump and through the establishment of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.
On Dec. 3, 2025, Spencer pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the preparation and filing of false tax returns.
According to court documents, Spencer prepared income tax returns for pay for persons who contacted her via Facebook. She prepared the income tax returns in Kansas City, Mo., and the returns were electronically filed with the Internal Revenue Service in Kansas City, Mo. The Federal income tax returns prepared by Spencer included fraudulent sick leave and family leave credits, illegitimate fuel tax credits, and fraudulently inflated federal tax withholdings.
By including these and other fraudulent items on the client’s tax returns, Spencer was able to manufacture substantial refunds to her clients that they would not have been entitled to if the returns had been accurately prepared.
Spencer charged her clients a return preparation fee of between $500 and $14,840 per return. The 156 returns that Spencer prepared claimed $4,047,531 in refunds, of which the IRS paid $689,872.
Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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