Tax Preparer Sentenced to 27 Months for Violating Court Order

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A local tax preparer has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for violating a court order and tax evasion. Michael Brier, 50, owner of Refunds Now Inc., a tax preparation firm based in Providence, R.I., was found guilty of one count of criminal contempt and one count of tax evasion.

Brier was ordered to serve 27 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay back taxes to the IRS in the amount of $399,424. Brier pleaded guilty on February 11, 2013, to the charges.

The charges stem from a 2010 investigation that found Brier and his employees prepared approximately 24,000 federal income tax returns between 2003 and 2007. An IRS examination of 350 of those returns determined that 92 percent of them required adjustments, resulting in a government-estimated loss of more than $1.1 million dollars in tax revenue.

On November 2010, the court entered a preliminary injunction against Brier and his employees after finding that at least 300 tax returns prepared by Brier and Refunds Now understated customers’ tax liabilities, and that Brier and his employees fabricated tax deductions and credits on the returns. On March 7, 2011, U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi permanently barred Michael Brier and his employees from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

Brier admitted to the court that he underreported his taxable income to the IRS between 2004 and 2009 totaling $1,152,679, and that he underpaid $399,424 in taxes to the IRS. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard B. Myrus.

Brier has been ordered to self-surrender by June 4, 2013, to begin serving his prison sentence. The investigation was led by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Criminal Investigation, with the assistance of the United States Attorney’s Office. The case is a reminder of the importance of tax compliance and the consequences of tax evasion.

The United States Attorney’s Office and the IRS would like to remind the public that tax evasion and contempt of court are serious crimes that can result in significant penalties and fines. If you have any information about tax evasion or other financial crimes, you can contact the IRS at (401) 709-5357 or USARI.Media@usdoj.gov.

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