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A Louisiana return preparer was sentenced to 24 months in prison today for conspiring to defraud the United States, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

According to court documents, Michegel Butler of St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, owned Crown Tax Service LLC, a tax preparation business located in Kenner, Louisiana. From approximately January 2013 through April 2013, Butler and others conspired to defraud the United States by preparing returns that fraudulently inflated clients’ tax refunds. Some of the returns included false Schedule C business income and expenses, dependents, and dependent care expenses. To substantiate the false income and expenses, Butler and others directed clients to create bogus receipts. In total, Butler caused over $100,000 in tax losses.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier ordered Butler to serve three years of supervised release and to pay approximately $90,856 in restitution to the United States.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Jessica Kraft of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dall Kammer, who prosecuted the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.