Tax preparer who filed more than 150 false returns gets prison time

The owner of a New Jersey-based tax preparation businesses who filed more than 150 income tax returns with false information has been sentenced to prison.

Michael Ewell, Sr., of Milford, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, and one year of supervised release on Tuesday, the IRS said in a news release. He previously pleaded guilty to willfully subscribing to a false tax return and aiding or assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return.

Ewell was the owner of Ewell Tax Center, which was based in West Orange. Between the years of 2015 and 2022, he prepared a total of 157 income tax returns that contained false information, the IRS said.

The exaggerated returns resulted in an additional $824,835 in refunds for his clients, the agency said. The false information included itemized deductions, business expenses and education credits, officials said.

"Mr. Ewell flagrantly abused our nation's tax laws and violated his clients' trust," said Jenifer L. Piovesan, special agent in charge of the IRS Newark Field Office's criminal investigations.

On one client's return in 2020, Ewell falsely reported that the person made charitable donations and reported expenses that were not legitimate, authorities said.

On his personal returns between 2017 and 2020, he underreported his company's gross revenue by $81,116 and exaggerated its business expenses by $6,338, causing him to avoid paying about $118,000 in taxes, officials said.

As part of his sentence, Ewell will have to pay $736,581 in restitution and is barred from preparing an income tax return for anyone except for himself.

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