Owner Of Union County Tax Business Charged With Fraud, Evasion

LINDEN, NJ — The owner of a tax return preparation business in Union County was arrested by federal agents on charges of tax fraud and tax evasion on Monday, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Terrance LeGall, 64, of Linden is charged by indictment with 11 counts of aiding and abetting the preparation of a false tax return and eight counts of tax evasion for failure to file personal and corporate income tax returns, Carpenito said.

LeGall who was the sole operator of LeGall Group Inc. (LGI), a tax return preparation business in Union County, allegedly prepared false tax returns for his clients from 2013 to 2017, according to documents filed in this case and statements made in court.

LeGall would allegedly include fake charitable contributions, unreimbursed business expenses and business losses that he knew his clients had not actually incurred so that the could get a reduction in tax liability and fraudulent refunds from the IRS, Carpenito said.

He also evaded the assessment of federal taxes for more than $600,000 by failing to file personal and corporate tax returns for the tax years 2012 through 2015, Carpenito said.

LeGall would act as a "ghost preparer," meaning he prepared income tax returns for his clients without identifying himself on the returns as a preparer and instead electronically filed the returns in way that it looked like it was filed by the taxpayers, according to the report.

He also tried to hide money he made from preparing the tax returns by depositing it into bank accounts belonging to his family members, according to the report.

LeGall faces a maximum prison sentence of three years and a $250,000 fine for each count of aiding and abetting in the preparation of false tax returns. He also faces a maximum prison sentence of five years and a $250,000 fine for each count of failure to file personal and corporate income tax returns.

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