Recent Tax Prosecutions Serve As A Reminder To Accurately File And Pay Taxes As The April 15 Deadline Approaches

As the tax filing season winds down next week, the following court actions serve as a reminder to taxpayers, to think before filing a false or fraudulent tax return and to be wary of any schemes that falsify your income or deductions.
Randall Stiles, of Fort Wayne, was convicted and sentenced for failure to file a federal tax return and other federal violations.  Stiles will serve 6 months in prison and pay $235,055 in restitution to the IRS.
Tara Hightower was convicted for preparing false federal tax returns. Hightower owned and operated a tax preparation service TZH Consulting and collected fees for tax preparation services.  She did not report her collected fees on her personal federal tax returns. Hightower was sentenced to 5 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $62,303 in restitution to the IRS.
Sherece Moore was convicted for assisting in the preparation of a false federal tax return.  Moore was employed as a tax return preparer for Quick Sam Tax Refund in Gary, Indiana. Moore was sentenced to 12 months’ probation.