Mount Vernon Tax Preparer Convicted Of Obstructing The IRS And 38 Counts Of Aiding And Assisting Preparation Of False And Fraudulent Tax Returns

    Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that tax preparer SAMUEL GENTLE, the owner of a tax preparation business named GenGen, Inc., in Mount Vernon, New York, was found guilty on charges of obstructing the IRS and aiding and assisting the preparation of false and fraudulent individual income tax returns for his clients.  GENTLE was convicted yesterday after a five-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel. 

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said:  “As a jury found after trial, Samuel Gentle abused his position of trust as a tax preparer by systematically violating the nation’s income tax laws.  The investigation that led to this conviction underscores our commitment, as well as that of our partners at the IRS, in pursuing and prosecuting people who circumvent our tax laws.”    

As established by the evidence at trial:

From 2010 through 2014, GENTLE’s tax preparation business prepared and submitted to the IRS, on average, 3,200 tax returns each year.  Some of these tax returns were false and fraudulent in that they contained various inflated deductions for unreimbursed employee business expenses, gifts to charity, and Schedule C business expenses.

As part of the investigation of this matter, an undercover IRS agent posed as a client of GENTLE’s.  During the operation, the agent provided GENTLE with a Form W-2 showing income from wages.  Despite being provided no records to support any other deductions, GENTLE included false and fraudulent deductions for unreimbursed employee business expenses and gifts to charity on the tax return he prepared for the undercover agent.  GENTLE’s inclusion of these false and fraudulent deductions caused the return to fraudulently claim a refund.

GENTLE also failed to report on his own tax returns nearly half of the $1 million in receipts that he received for his tax preparation services from 2010 through 2014.  He spread the receipts across eight bank accounts at five banks.  In addition, he failed to issue W-2’s or Forms 1099 to himself or his employees, further concealing from the IRS the amount of receipts he and his business received.

GENTLE, 59, of Mount Vernon, New York, was found guilty on all 39 counts submitted to the jury, including one count of interfering with the administration of the internal revenue laws and 38 counts of aiding and assisting the preparation of false and fraudulent U.S. tax returns, each of which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.  The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

GENTLE’s sentencing is scheduled for October 25, 2016.

Mr. Bharara praised the IRS for their outstanding work in the investigation.