Gulfport man admits to beefing up tax returns to get clients more money from IRS

Justin Mitchell
·1 min read

A Gulfport tax preparer admitted in court Thursday to filing false federal tax returns for Mississippi Coast clients, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

Between 2012 and 2014, Orland Reed included false information on returns in order to help them get larger refunds from the IRS, according to court documents.

The falsified information included:

  • Household help income

  • Education credits

  • Dependent information

  • Federal income tax withholdings

At times, the DOJ said, Reed listed a different tax preparer — even though was the one who prepared the returns.

Reed also took tax return debit cards belonging to at least two clients and spent money from their refunds before giving them their cards, the DOJ said.

He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison and will be sentenced on Sept. 22.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca for the Southern District of Mississippi announced the guilty plea.

The IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case. Trial Attorney Kevin Schneider of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris for the Southern District of Mississippi are prosecuting the case.