A former collections agency manager who filed false tax returns for co-workers and associates faces a possible prison sentence of up to three years.
Michael Thornton, 41, of Union City, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to tax fraud, admitting he prepared numerous returns using fraudulent and misleading information. The deception included inflating incomes and lying about deductions to obtain higher refunds.
"This fraudster guaranteed large returns without seeing any information, filed returns without showing them to the taxpayers, failed to identify himself as the preparer on the returns, and had refund checks deposited in his personal bank account, all as part of a scheme to steal hundreds of thousands in illegitimate tax refunds,” said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates.
For the 2005 and 2006 tax years, Thornton filed more than 340 returns, claiming $1.8 million in false items and cheating the government out of nearly $320,000, federal authorities say. He charged between $150 and $650 for each return.
Thornton, who will be sentenced Sept. 6, faces a possible maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
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