Seven tax return preparers in Charlotte, N.C., have pleaded guilty to charges relating to preparing fraudulent tax returns. The individuals include the owner of Kapital Financial Services and its employees.
Joseph Octave and Vonyeda Carson pleaded guilty this week while Melissa Greene, Natisha Holloman, Kimberly Joline, Whitney Vargas-Medrano and Wendia Courtois pleaded guilty earlier.
All pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States by preparing and filing false tax returns while Octave also pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the filing of false tax returns.
Octave owned and operated two Kapital offices in Charlotte and from 2014 through at least 2019, she and her employees used a variety of techniques, including inflated deductions and fake business losses, to increase refunds their clients received. Octave trained employees on how to file false returns, providing them with scripts and cheat sheets. She also instructed them not to review completed tax returns with clients beyond the refund amount.
Octave received the largest share of $700,000 in preparation fees received by Kapital.
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind