By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – A LaPlace tax preparer who pleaded guilty in February to filing false tax returns for customers of his business so he could pocket refunds of more than $90,000 was sentenced to more than three years in prison, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

James W. Nelson, 60, received his 37-month sentence Thursday from U.S. District Court Judge Lance M. Africk. As part of the sentence, Nelson has also been barred from owning or being employed by a tax preparation business in the future. Nelson was convicted of tax fraud, tax evasion and obstruction of justice.

According to court documents, from 2007 through 2011 Nelson, or his employees under his direction at Nelson’s Computerized Tax Service, prepared and filed false income tax returns for customers that contained false deductions that fraudulently claimed more than $90,000 in refunds the customers were not entitled to.

Nelson had been running the company, with branches in LaPlace, Vacherie and Boutte, since 1992 and had hundreds of clients annually, according to a factual basis filed on the case. Additionally, Nelson was charged with neglecting to pay more than $21,000 in income tax on revenue he received in 2006, 2008 and 2009. He also allegedly falsified documents to be used to support one of his customer’s fraudulent tax returns and false deduction amounts contained in the return.

In addition to the prison sentence, Nelson will also have to pay approximately $111,497.80 in restitution to the United States Internal Revenue Service for his wrongful conduct. He was also sentenced to three years of probation.ꆱ