Athens tax preparer sentenced to federal prison for $3.5 million fraud scheme

Released by the United States Department of Justice:

MACON, Ga. – A tax preparer who admitted to filing more than $3.5 million in fraudulent tax returns tied to a multi-state investigation of a COVID-19 pandemic unemployment benefit scheme in which she received a percentage of the ill-gotten gains was sentenced to serve eight years in prison for her crime.

Jessica Crawford, 34, of Athens, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 96 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self, III on May 8. Crawford previously pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of aiding and assisting in preparing and presenting false income tax returns on Nov. 22, 2024.There is no parole in the federal system.

“Federal law enforcement uncovered a large-scale tax return scheme during the pandemic that was costing taxpayers while benefiting fraudsters,” said Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker. “Alongside our law enforcement partners, federal prosecutors will continue to uphold the law and pursue justice in these cases.”

“Jessica Crawford used her position as a tax preparer to defraud the U.S. government through a CARES Act program intended for those unemployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Atlanta Field Office Assistant Special Agent in Charge Lisa Fontanette. “In addition, she continued her theft of taxpayers’ money by fraudulently filing tax returns on behalf of her clients. The sentencing Crawford received should serve notice to unscrupulous tax preparers that IRS Criminal Investigation special agents and our law enforcement partners will continue investigating and holding them accountable for their unethical conduct.”

"Jessica Crawford lied and took advantage of funds designed to help those who were truly in need during the pandemic," said Paul Brown, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. "The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to identify and hold accountable anyone who defrauds taxpayers."

According to court documents and statements made in court, FBI agents investigating a multi-state unemployment benefit scheme conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic discovered text messages between individuals involved in the scheme and Crawford, a tax preparer with Crawford Tax Services in Athens. Crawford filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits on behalf of those individuals who had created fake businesses or submitted false information to fraudulently obtain benefits. In return, Crawford received a percentage of the ill-gotten gains.

Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) agents executed an undercover operation at Crawford’s business in April 2022 as part of the continuing investigation. The undercover agent (UA) met Crawford to have taxes prepared, and Crawford asked if the UA did anything on the side. At first, the UA responded no, but Crawford said that expenses could be deducted if he did, and the UA said he mowed an aunt’s lawn sometimes, which Crawford said was good enough. The UA did not provide any income or expense amounts. Still, Crawford created a Schedule C business for landscaping on the UA's federal income tax return based solely on that interaction. Crawford prepared a Form 1040 and filed electronically, including a fictitious Schedule C loss of $19,373, and claimed an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a Child Tax Credit (CTC), and a Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction, which were affected by the fraudulent Schedule C loss. As a result, the UA’s return claimed a fraudulent federal income tax refund of $12,359.

The IRS completed a statistical review of 1,261 total tax returns filed by Crawford in tax years 2020 and 2021. Of those, the IRS determined that Crawford fraudulently filed tax returns on behalf of clients, resulting in losses to the IRS exceeding $3 million from falsely claimed Form 7202 credits for sick leave and family leave, tax credits and dependent care credits.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the IRS-CI.

Criminal Chief Leah E. McEwen prosecuted the case for the Government.