Tax preparer from nation's poorest county sentenced to five years for $3.5 million in tax fraud
Mo’ Money (a tax preparation service) did amount to mo’ problems for businesses operator Teresa Chism, who was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison for filing fraudulent tax returns.
Under business names Mo’ Money, MoneyCo USA and Lady T Taxes, Chism manipulated information in her clients’ returns to boost their tax refunds, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Between 2002 and 2015, Chism prepared 550 false income tax returns in an attempt to garner over $3.5 million in bogus tax returns for clients in her Durant community, located in the poorest county in the nation. She did this by reporting false wages, self-employment income and expenses, and education credits.
“By lying and cheating our tax system, this defendant stuck her hand in every American’s pocketbook and stole money that should have gone to our families, our communities and our kids’ futures,” U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst said in the release.
Read more: https://mississippitoday.org/2019/05/02/tax-preparer-from-nations-poorest-county-sentenced-to-five-years-for-3-5-million-in-tax-fraud/