AUGUSTA, Ga. — A Richmond County woman has been sentenced to 22 months in federal prison for running a fraudulent tax preparation business that defrauded the IRS out of more than $541,000.
Kim Brown, 40, was sentenced after pleading guilty to two counts of Aiding and Assisting in the Preparation and Filing of False Income Tax Returns. The sentence also includes restitution of $541,912 and one year of supervised release after serving her prison term.
According to court documents, Brown operated her tax preparation business from her home in Augusta in 2022. She worked as a “ghost preparer,” a term used for tax preparers who file returns for others but fail to sign them, hiding their involvement.
Federal prosecutors said Brown fabricated income and deductions on client tax returns to inflate refunds. She then charged a fee based on a percentage of the inflated refund and failed to provide her clients with copies of their filed returns or allow them to review them before submission.
“Kim Brown stole money from taxpayers, and this sentence holds her accountable,” said Margaret E. Heap, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman added, “Not signing off on a tax return is just one of the signs someone is acting as a ghost preparer.”
The fraudulent tax filings led the U.S. Department of Treasury to issue $541,912 in false tax refunds, all of which Brown has been ordered to repay.
