Tax Shop Owner Sentenced to Prison For Fraud

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A San Francisco tax shop owner was sentenced to 37 months in prison and ordered to pay $184,798 in restitution after being convicted of tax fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Josiah Larkin, 40, of San Francisco, was convicted of filing and conspiring to file false federal tax returns while he was operating an unauthorized franchise called Colbert Ball Tax on Third Street in San Francisco.

Larkin opened the shop on Dec. 15, 2012, and filed false returns claiming clients earned $0 in income and paid $4,000 in qualified educational expenses, prosecutors said.

That combination netted a tax refund of $1,000 based on the American Opportunity Tax Credit. Larkin would take about half of the refund and give the other half to his clients, according to prosecutors.

Larkin will begin serving his sentence on April 28.

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock