A Starkville, Mississippi tax return preparer pleaded guilty today to aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of a false tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney William C. Lamar for the Northern District of Mississippi.

According to documents and information provided to the court, from early 2012 through April 2016, Jameka Coffey managed ABS Tax Services, a tax preparation business in Starkville, Mississippi. Coffey falsified taxpayer client returns by claiming false education credits and reporting fake businesses in order to seek refunds to which her clients were not entitled. Coffey also admitted that she trained other preparers to file fraudulent returns.

Coffey faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison, as well as a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. Coffey's sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Lamar thanked agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Dabbs and Trial Attorney William Montague of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.

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