A Jacksonville tax preparer has been handed an 18-month sentence in federal prison for their role in creating more than $1.8 million in fraudulent tax returns, a U.S. District Judge ordered. The preparer, Survalarie Harris, operated the Tax Genie Tax Service and entered a guilty plea last August after being charged with aiding and assisting in the filing of a false tax return. On top of her prison term, Harris is also required to pay $1,824,279 in restitution, the amount she cost the U.S. Treasury.
Information from the U.S. Attorney's Office reveals that Harris's scheme involved falsifying tax deductions and fabricating entire businesses on her clients' tax returns, which helped them illegally qualify for Earned Income Credits and reduce their tax liabilities. One instance, detailed in the case, included Harris preparing a return for an undercover IRS-CI agent in March 2022. Despite the undercover agent only mentioning occasional hair braiding work, Harris conjured up a business net loss for a non-existent business.
The fraud was extensive, with IRS-CI agents estimating that Harris prepared over 900 falsified tax returns from the 2020 to the 2022 tax years. As outlined in a statement on the U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe emphasized that "Deliberately submitting false, fraudulent, or misleading information to the IRS is a crime," vowing to "vigorously investigate and prosecute those who deliberately seek to defraud our tax system."
Harris's punishment was firmly supported by officials, with IRS Special Agent in Charge Ron Loecker commenting, "Most tax preparers play by the rules—but those who don't will be held accountable." Loecker stressed that creating bogus businesses to swindle tax refunds is not merely inadvisable, it's outright criminal. The IRS vows continued diligence in pursuing such fraudulent activity to enforce justice.
The case against Harris was the product of an IRS Criminal Investigation probe and was brought to trial by Assistant United States Attorney Elisibeth Adams.
