MONTGOMERY, Alabama – A Cowarts woman who prepared federal income tax returns for clients at a Dothan business was sentenced November 10 to 33 months in federal prison for filing false returns, U.S. Attorney Thomas Govan of the Middle District of Alabama announced.
The court ordered 40-year-old Markita Latrice Thornton to serve one year of supervised release after her prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge Patrick M. Palmer of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Atlanta Field Office joined Govan in announcing the sentence.
How the scheme worked
According to her plea agreement and other court records, Thornton began preparing returns in 2016 at a tax preparation business in Dothan. She generally did not require clients to pay when she did the work. The Internal Revenue Service deducted her fees from clients’ refunds before it issued the money.
The plea agreement cites two examples. On January 6, 2022, Thornton filed a return for a client that falsely reported $10,995 in business income from a business she knew did not exist.
On February 1, 2023, she filed a false return for a client who has dementia. That return claimed a dependent, claimed education credits tied to that dependent and included a $4,113 fuel tax credit for an off-highway business for which the client did not qualify. It also reported $12,105 in net profit from a repair business that did not exist.
Thornton admitted she knowingly filed the false returns to produce refunds larger than her clients were entitled to receive. Court records and statements in court show those two returns represented only part of her conduct. She prepared and filed other false returns during the scheme.
Restitution and forfeiture
The court ordered Thornton to pay $328,158.34 in restitution to the IRS. In her plea agreement, she admitted her conduct caused an actual tax loss to the government of more than $1.6 million.
She also agreed to forfeit $76,783.50, which represents proceeds she earned by preparing false returns for taxpayers identified in the investigation.
What officials said
“Tax preparers have a duty to file accurate returns and help preserve the integrity of our tax system,” Govan said. “Those who knowingly submit false information to obtain fraudulent refunds will be held accountable. I also encourage taxpayers to carefully review their returns before they are filed. If a tax preparer asks you to sign a blank return, refuses to sign the return as the preparer, or fails to provide you with a copy, those are warning signs that should prompt additional scrutiny.”
“Markita Thornton’s sentence for filing fraudulent returns is an example of the accountability unscrupulous tax preparers can expect,” Palmer said. “Many professional tax preparers serve their clients with honesty and integrity. IRS Criminal Investigation special agents work tirelessly to investigate and refer for prosecution those who tarnish the profession’s reputation by defrauding their clients and the U.S. government.”
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan A. Kirkpatrick prosecuted it.
The sentence follows another federal case against a Dothan tax preparer that ended in a prison term of nearly five years. For more on the area, see our Houston County coverage.