From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced tax preparer Pamela Whitt, also known as Pamela Motley, of Bessemer, to two years in prison for filing false tax returns, according to U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Holloman.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office and IRS-Criminal Investigation will continue to aggressively pursue those who threaten the integrity of the tax system,” Town said. “Dishonest and abusive tax preparers like Whitt, who make their living preparing and filing false tax returns, will be charged with federal crimes and will go to federal prison.”
“As we enter the tax return filing season, it is important that every taxpayer reviews their tax return and verifies that all of the information is correct on that return,” Holloman said. “This case is a prime example of a return preparer who was not credible and, in addition to filing her own false tax returns, she filed false tax returns for her clients.”
Whitt pleaded guilty in July to her role in filing false tax returns. According to her plea agreement, Whitt made false representations on her 2011 and 2012 individual tax returns by willfully underreporting receipts from her business and further falsely listed her filing status as single. The receipts related to over 1,000 federal income tax returns prepared. Whitt also filed false tax returns for her clients, to inflate the amount of tax refund they would receive. Whitt agreed to pay restitution of $146,177.
IRS-CI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert O. Posey prosecuted.
