A Franklin, Tennessee CPA has been sentenced to a nine-year prison term after pleading guilty to charges of theft and tax fraud, involving over $4.6 million taken from clients, along with nearly $300,000 stolen from the U.S. Treasury via tax refund fraud. The sentence was handed down yesterday, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Jason Alexander Jerkins, the owner of Jerkins Business Solutions, which offered various accounting services, took advantage of the online access he had to his clients' accounts to surreptitiously wire funds to accounts he controlled. Acting U.S. Attorney Robert E. McGuire described Jerkins' actions, stating, "Jerkins' clients did not know that he was filing tax returns with the IRS that were different than the copy provided to them." Jerkins was clever to mostly time the illicit transfers near legitimate ones, and when suspicion arose, he repaid the questioning clients with money stolen from others or presented fraudulent documents to show the legitimacy of the transactions.
Jerkins' scheme did not only involve stealing directly from clients, but also manipulating tax returns to fraudulently inflate refunds, then directing the inflated portion of these refunds into his own pockets. The IRS and Jerkins' clients were deceived when Jerkins handed over an altered tax return, showing a different amount than what was officially filed, misrepresenting their fiscal realities and padding his own fortune under their noses. The total loss to clients and the U.S. Treasury from the tax fraud specifically amounted to approximately $380,010 attempted and $280,970 successfully obtained.
The funds acquired by Jerkins went toward a myriad of personal expenses, including paying off credit cards, indulging in vacations, leasing cars, and purchasing real estate — all hallmarks of a lifestyle beyond the means he rightfully earned. U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger, who oversaw the case, has also ordered Jerkins to pay back roughly $4.5 million in restitution, as detailed by the press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. This gesture of reparation, however small the comfort, is designated to go back to the victims and the United States to somewhat alleviate the financial wounds inflicted.
This case was investigated by Special Agent Ryan Grande of IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Trial Attorney Matthew Hicks of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Levine of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The proceedings against Jerkins mark a closure for the clients who once placed their trust and their financial wellbeing into the hands of a man who, as per McGuire's words, chose to line his own pockets rather than honor his professional obligation of integrity.
