A Chattanooga man faces two years in prison and more than $308,000 in restitution following a federal judge’s ruling Thursday.
Chief U.S. District Judge Curtis Collier sentenced Reginald Hadley to the prison term plus one year of supervised probation and ordered him to pay restitution for “preparing and filing a false income tax return for another,” according to a U.S. Attorney’s office release.
Hadley was employed as a tax return preparer for Rapid Refunds in Chattanooga from 2004 to 2008, according to the release.
Hadley pleaded guilty to one count of preparing and filing a false income tax return for another on May 13.
He admitted to preparing a false 2007 tax return for a married couple that claimed a $9,719 refund and to “preparing a fraudulent tax return” with false business expenses, knowing the businesses did not exist, according to the release.
The false claims gave the taxpayers a refund instead of owing taxes.
“Our office will make every effort to prosecute those who are in the business of cheating the American tax payer,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Killian. “Tax payer fraud costs those who work hard and pay their fair share.”
IRS Criminal Investigations along with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gary Humble and Perry Piper conducted the investigation.