Mark Goldberg, (pictured below) a tax return preparer from the Bronx in New York City, pled guilty to tax fraud last month. In the indictment Goldberg was charged with 40 counts of willfully and/or knowingly inflating tax deductions for his clients, 4 counts of filing fraudulent returns of his own, 1 count of obstruction of justice, and 1 count of wire fraud.
Goldberg ran his tax preparation business out of a storefront in the Bronx. There were always long lines of clients at his door waiting for his assistance in filing their taxes. The Government alleges that part of the reason Goldberg’s business was so busy was due to the fraudulent deductions he filed for his clients which totaled more than $7,000,000 over a span of five years. These fraudulent reductions resulted in thousands of dollars in tax refunds to individuals who were not otherwise entitled to this money.
Goldberg pled guilty to one count of subscribing to a false tax return for himself, one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return, and one count of wire fraud. At his upcoming sentencing hearing, Goldberg will face a maximum possible sentence of 26 years in prison. As a condition of his plea deal, he cannot contest a forfeiture to the IRS of a business bank account that had a balance of $500,000. Goldberg is set to be sentenced December 17, 2013.
Sources
Dept. of Justice Press Release
New York Daily News’ article