Former Judge sentenced for Tax Fraud

A former Municipal Court Judge in Central will spend the next 24-months behind bars for tax fraud.  United States Attorney Bill Nettles announces that 48-year-old Janet Reese of Central was sentenced by United States District Judge Timothy Cain to 24 months imprisonment and ordered to pay $472,000 in restitution.  Reese had earlier pled guilty to filing false tax claims. Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Reese operated her own tax preparation business.  For tax year 2008, Reese prepared and filed multiple returns for individuals and claimed the First Time Homebuyer Credit on the returns.  The taxpayers had never informed Reese that they had purchased a home and, in fact, had not purchased a home.  Reese had the refunds from the First Time Homebuyer Credits electronically deposited into an account she controlled. This prevented the taxpayers from discovering that Reese had included false information on their returns.  Law enforcement estimates that Reese’s fraudulent activity caused the United States Treasury to issue almost half a million dollars in improper refunds.