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Date: 02-05-2024
Case Style:
Case Number: 1:24-cr-00035
Judge: James R. Cho
Court: The United States Court for the Eastern District of New York (Kings County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn
Defendant's Attorney:
Description:
Defendant Defrauded the Internal Revenue Service of over $1.1 Million Through Residential Energy Credit Scheme
Melinda Jacob, the former owner of a tax preparation business, pleaded guilty to a criminal Information charging her with the preparation of false tax returns.
Jacob owned and operated Melinda Jacob Tax Services, a tax preparation business located in her home in Brooklyn, New York. Between 2019 and 2022, Jacobs prepared false and fraudulent Forms 5695 for multiple clients. Form 5695 was an IRS form on which a taxpayer reported expenditures or costs associated with clean energy or energy efficient improvements to their home, and claimed one or both of the “Residential Clean Energy Credit” and the “Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit” against their tax liability. A Form 5695, where applicable, is filed as an attachment to a taxpayer’s Form 1040. Jacob inflated her clients’ tax refunds by preparing and submitting to the IRS false tax returns that claimed fictitious expenses relating to solar water heaters and geothermal heat pumps that resulted in the clients receiving fraudulent Residential Energy Credits. In most cases, Jacob made up the energy expenses listed on her clients’ tax returns and did not discuss the Residential Energy Credit with her clients. As a result of these false Forms 5695, the IRS suffered an aggregate tax loss of approximately $1,151,761.
Outcome:
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: