Tax Preparer In Michigan Is Sentenced

A tax preparer formerly employed by H&R Block, Thomas Mercer, 60, of Romulus, Michigan, was sentenced today to 86 months’ imprisonment, announced United States Attorney Stephen J. Murphy. On September 13, 2007, Mercer pleaded guilty to all 30 counts of an indictment charging him with filing false federal income tax returns for a number of his clients and with obstructing the IRS’s investigation.Mr. Murphy was joined in the announcement by Maurice Aouate, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff, who also ordered Mercer to pay restitution to the U.S. Treasury in the amount of $331,478.00.

According to court documents, Mercer was a tax preparer at an office of H&R Block in Dearborn, Michigan. Mercer was charged with 23 counts of aiding in the preparation and filing of federal income tax returns that claimed false and fraudulent deductions for expenses and tax credits that made it appear that the taxpayers were owed large refunds. Most of the returns indicted losses from fictitious janitorial businesses, as well as false tuition, charitable contributions, and child tax credits. He was also charged with seven counts of obstructing the due administration of the Internal Revenue laws by providing instructions to some of his clients with what to tell investigators and by providing them with documents purporting to justify some of the expense deductions. United States Attorney Stephen J. Murphy said, “A tax preparer exercises a great deal of power over his tax payer customers, because they are relying heavily on the preparer’s expertise and honesty. In this case, the tax preparer acted more like a coach on how to cheat Uncle Sam. All citizens must remember that they are ultimately responsible for their tax returns, no matter who prepares them. If their returns are false, taxpayers may be not only liable for back taxes, but also subject to fines, penalties, and like this case, serious criminal prosecution.”

Special Agent in Charge Aouate said, “At the IRS, protecting taxpayer money is a matter we take extremely serious. No one is entitled to an undeserved windfall and refunds should only be issued to taxpayers who are entitled to them. CI will continue to aggressively pursue those who file or promote the filing of false tax returns.”
Mr. Murphy noted that H&R Block fully cooperated with and provided valuable assistance to the government’s criminal investigation, which was conducted by special agents of the Criminal Investigation Division of IRS. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephen L. Hiyama.