News -- AA woman from Louisiana was sentenced to 1 year and 1 day for conspiracy to defraud the United States and assisting clients in filing false tax returns. Brittany Patterson, of St. John the Baptist Parish, pleaded guilty on November 14, 2019,
to conspiracy to defraud the United States and aiding and abetting the filing of false tax returns. Michegel Butler owned Crown Tax Service LLC, where Patterson worked as a tax return preparer, according to court documents. Patterson, Butler, and others worked together from about January 2013 to April 2013 to inflate their clients' refunds by preparing tax returns that claimed false Schedule C businesses, dependents, and dependent care expenses. Patterson and the other co-conspirators directed clients to fill out fraudulent receipts in order to substantiate the false income and expenses reported on their tax returns. They also encouraged some clients to buy or sell dependents' personal identification information, which could be used to file false tax returns.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier ordered Patterson to serve three years of supervised release and pay the United States approximately $90,856 in restitution.
Wnctimes by Marjorie Farrington