Tax Preparer Sentenced to Multiple Years In Prison for Filing Multiple False Tax Returns

Damian Barrett, a Florida tax preparer, was convicted of filing 745 false tax returns in 19 states.

 

Barrett owned two tax preparation companies. He used one to file legitimate returns and the other to file false returns.

 

From 2015 to 2018 Barrett filed 348 false returns in the state of Oregon alone, requesting more than $322,000 in fraudulent refunds. The state paid out more than $130,000 in refunds as a result of these claims.

 

Barrett used names and social security numbers of various individuals, some of whom were his legitimate clients, to submit the false returns. He also set up bank accounts in the names of some of his victims in order to receive the refunds.

 

In total he sought almost $900,000 in refunds and received over $234,000 in fraudulent refunds.

 

Barrett was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison and to pay more than $234,000 in restitution to 11 state departments of revenue, and more than $74,000 to the IRS.