Two Union County tax preparers were arrested today on charges of filing scores of fraudulent tax returns, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
According to authorities, Samuel Davis Jr., 52, and Kyna Felder-Ruiz, 35, both of Plainfield, New Jersey, were indicted by a federal grand jury on April 11, 2018. Davis is charged with conspiring to aid and abet the filing of more than 70 false tax returns, seven counts of aiding and abetting in the filing of false tax returns, and three counts of filing his own false tax returns.
Officials charged Felder-Ruiz with conspiring to aid and abet the filing of more than 70 false tax returns and four counts of aiding and abetting in the filing of false tax returns. They are scheduled to appear today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark federal court.
According to the indictment:
Davis is the owner and operator of Get Organized Tax & Accounting (GOTA), a tax preparation business in Plainfield. He retired as a detective sergeant from the N.J. State Police in 2016 after 28 years. Felder-Ruiz, who worked for the N.J. State Police as a public safety dispatcher for approximately two years and is currently a firefighter for the City of Plainfield, New Jersey, works as a tax preparer at GOTA.
For the tax years 2011 to 2016, Davis and Felder-Ruiz prepared false individual income tax returns for various clients. They used a number of fraudulent practices, including falsely claiming deductions and fabricating educational credits in order to obtain refunds for their clients in amounts greater than those to which they were entitled.
For the tax years 2012 through 2014, Davis filed false individual income tax returns by falsely reporting the gross business income to GOTA. By doing so, Davis defrauded the IRS of tens of thousands of dollars in taxes.
The false filing charges with which Davis and Felder-Ruiz are charged each carry a maximum potential penalty of three years in prison and a $100,000 fine or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss from the fraud. The maximum penalty for the conspiracy offense is five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross loss or gain caused by the offense.
Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of this defendant can contact IRS-Criminal Investigation at (732) 761-6439.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.