A federal grand jury has returned an indictment, which was unsealed today, charging a Winston-Salem resident with conspiring to file false tax returns, aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, and filing a false personal tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Matthew G. T. Martin for the Middle District of North Carolina.

According to the indictment, Claudia Lynette Shivers conspired with others to defraud the government by preparing false tax returns. Shivers allegedly co-owned and operated two tax return preparation businesses: Fast Tax of Winston-Salem, Inc. in Winston-Salem and Quick Taxes LLC in Greensboro. The indictment alleges Shivers falsified items on her clients’ tax returns, such as dependents and Schedule A deductions, in order to fraudulently maximize their refunds and allegedly directed her clients to hand-write false information on tax forms and other documents used in the preparation of their returns. The indictment further charges Shivers with aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns for several clients, as well as filing a false 2014 tax return for herself on which she is alleged to have failed to report all of her income.

If convicted, Shivers faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for conspiracy, three years in prison for each count of preparing false tax returns, and three years in prison for the count related to her own tax return. She also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Martin thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, Tax Division and Trial Attorney Robert J. Boudreau and Criminal Division Chief Clifton T. Barrett of the Middle District of North Carolina, who are prosecuting the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.