Maryland Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax Returns

Adis Smith, a Maryland tax return preparer, has pleaded guilty to preparing false tax returns, the Justice Department said Friday.

Smith prepared and filed false income tax returns to fraudulently lower the taxes his clients owed or to generate refunds from the IRS by reporting fictitious or inflated business losses and itemized deductions, which caused around $4.73 million in tax loss for the agency, according to the department. He also reported the returns as it they had been self-prepared by the client.

He is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal district court judge Feb. 2, and he faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison as well as a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties, the DOJ said.

This story was produced by Bloomberg Law Automation.