Plainfield tax preparer pleads guilty in scam case

//July 31, 2009

NULLA Plainfield tax preparer who ran a scam faces up to three years in prison and a $100,000 fine, according to a Newark investigation unit of the Internal Revenue Service.

Lissette Veloz pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of false tax returns, the IRS said last week.

From January 2004 to April 2004, Veloz ran a tax preparation business out of a storefront called First Class Supply, in Plainfield, according to an indictment filed in NewarkÂs federal district court.

During that time, she improperly qualified 28 clients for a federal Earned Income Tax Credit and tax refunds totaling more than $100,000 using fake W-2 forms she prepared.

The W-2s reflected false information about the taxpayersÂ employment, and earned income amounts or tax withholding amounts, according to the court filings, which noted she billed up to $2,500 for each return.

Veloz is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 19.