Brockton Tax Business Owner Charged With Filing False Returns

BROCKTON, MA — The owner of a Brockton tax preparation business was arraigned in federal court Friday on 13 counts preparing false tax returns and one count of filing a false return.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Jose Miguel Spinola, 51, was indicted for preparing false returns for others as well as filing a false return for himself.

Spinola is accused of preparing and filing tax documents for clients that contained false, inflated or incorrect information from 2014 to 2017. He is accused of adding false, inflated or ineligible expenses for clients on their Schedule A for medical and dental expenses, and unreimbursed business expenses, including claimed meals, entertainment, business meals and work apparel.

The deductions helped increase the clients' refunds.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said clients were told of their refund amounts without telling them of the fabricated deductions. As part of the investigation, the U.S. Attorney's Offices sent an undercover agent to have his taxes done, with the indictment accusing Spinola of deducting medical and dental expenses, charitable donations and unreimbursed business expenses that were not reported to Spinola by the agent.

Each count of aiding the preparation of false tax returns and filing false tax returns could result in a sentence up to three years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston, made the announcement Monday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Miron Bloom of Lelling’s Securities, Financial and Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.