Two Florida Tax Preparers Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud the United States | OPA

Two Florida tax preparers pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and preparing false tax returns.

According to court documents, Nikency Alexis owned and operated Unity Tax & Financial Services, a return preparation business in Broward County. From 2011 through at least 2016, Alexis and Thony Guillaume, a return preparer at Unity Tax, conspired to defraud the IRS by preparing returns for clients that fraudulently increased their clients’ tax refunds. The returns falsely claimed business and education expenses that the clients did not in fact incur. Alexis also made false statements on his own personal income tax returns. In total, the defendants caused an intended tax loss to the IRS of $2,879,078.

Guillaume pleaded guilty today and Alexis pleaded guilty on Sept. 14. Both are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 30. Both defendants face a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge and three years in prison on the filing false tax returns charges. In addition, the defendants face a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzales for the Southern District of Florida made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Matthew Hicks of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Deric Zacca of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.