Pittsburgh tax preparer gets federal prison time for lying on tax returns

A tax preparer from Pittsburgh’s North Side has been sentenced to 4 months in federal prison for lying on tax returns he prepared for clients, including making up fake gifts to charity and phony business expenses.

Jamar White, 49, also was ordered to pay nearly $70,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and a fine of $500, U.S. Attorney Cindy K. Chung said.

White pleaded guilty to the federal charges against him in January 2020.

The 31-count indictment against him was returned by a federal grand jury in February 2017, based on the fraudulent filings flagged by the criminal investigation unit of the IRS, prosecutors said. When confronted, prosecutors said White could not provide any records to back up tens of thousands of dollars in purported deductions he filed on behalf of paying clients.

“Mr. White created false deductions which did not in fact represent the actual income and eligible deductions of many of his various clients,” prosecutors said in a statement.

“By fictionalizing various deductions for things such as gifts to charity and business expenses, which did not in fact exist, Mr. White was able to secure refunds for clients to which they were not in fact entitled,” prosecutors added.

According to the indictment, White “willfully aided and assisted” at least seven taxpayers in preparing more than 30 Form 1040s that contained false information and fraudulent deductions for “items such as medical and dental expenses, charitable contributions, various unreimbursed business expenses and tax preparation fees.”

White had worked as a math teacher for Pittsburgh Public Schools from 1999 through 2009, when he left teaching to go into tax preparation and went on to start his own tax agent and certified public accountant firm, public records and White’s LinkedIn profile show.

U.S. Chief District Judge Mark Hornak ordered White to remain on probation for one year following his release from prison.