Dedric Landrum, 40, of Chattanooga, was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Curtis L. Collier for preparing a false income tax return.

Landrum pleaded guilty to the charges.

According to supporting documents for the plea agreement, Landrum received fraudulent tax refunds by inflating deductions and credits on his tax returns.

Landrum was ordered to pay $148,678 in restitution to the IRS, and after his release from prison he will be on one year of supervised release.

The investigation that led to the charges, guilty plea and sentencing was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John P. MacCoon and James Brooks.