Owner of Toms River Accounting Business Convicted for Swindling Clients Out of Tax Refunds

A Toms River, NJ, woman was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for filing false tax returns and using her accounting business to cheat her clients out of their tax refunds, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Doreen Gentile, 62, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez to Count 2 and Count 27 of an indictment, charging her with mail fraud and filing a false income tax return. Judge Rodriguez imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Gentile owned and operated her accounting business, Doreen A. Gentile & Associates, LLC (DAG & Associates), out of her home in Toms River. Gentile admitted that as part of her scheme, she would show her clients a tax return that indicated that they had no tax or refund due, owed a minimal amount of tax, or were due a refund that was far less than the amount to which they were entitled. Gentile then prepared a second set of tax returns, signed without her clients’ permission, that she submitted to the IRS or the State of New Jersey for the full tax refund.

Based on the second set of returns, the IRS or the State of New Jersey issued tax refund checks care of DAG & Associates and mailed them to the DAG & Associates post office box in Toms River. Gentile then deposited the tax refund checks into the DAG & Associates bank account without her clients’ permission. Afterwards, Gentile used the funds to pay for personal expenses.

Gentile also admitted that from 2006 through 2009, she failed to report to the IRS all of her income generated from DAG & Associates, including funds she stole as part of her refund scheme, resulting in tax losses of approximately $188,811.

In addition to the prison term, Gentile must serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution of $1,863,013.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, and special agents of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Ryan, the for investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Jason M. Richardson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.