A Houston tax preparer, Christopher J. Guevara, has pleaded guilty to aiding in the preparation of a false 2017 tax return, causing a loss of over $100,000 to the government, as announced by U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
During his plea, Guevara confessed to operating Chris Tax Service in Houston from 2018 to 2020, where he habitually added fabricated deductions and credits on his clients' tax returns to illegitimately increase their refunds. He further admitted to have falsely placed $26,857 in business losses on a return, which resulted in approximately $13,390 in tax loss to the United States, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas.
As part of the fallout, Guevara is now tasked to pay $123,458 in restitution. He awaits sentencing on October 31, where he faces a potential maximum of three years in jail and a $250,000 fine. Despite his plea, he remains on bond until the date of his sentencing. The case was brought to light by the IRS Criminal Investigation and is currently prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Gray.
