Las Vegas tax preparer gets prison for filing false returns

A 60-year-old man was sentenced in Las Vegas on Tuesday to a year and one day in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns for himself and others, causing about a $265,000 loss to the IRS, the Justice Department announced.

William Craig pleaded guilty Oct. 28, 2019, to making and subscribing a false tax return, according to a news release. Craig operated a tax return preparation business in Las Vegas since at least 2012 and claimed false deductions in his client’s tax returns. He also underreported his own taxable income and claimed false work expenses.

From 2012 to 2017, Craig caused at least $128,000 in tax losses to the IRS by filing false returns for clients, the release said. His own underreporting caused $143,237 in tax losses.

Craig has been ordered to pay back the $143,237 to the IRS, the release said. He was also sentenced to a year of supervised release following the prison time.

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