Date: October 14, 2021 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov DENVER — Jimmie Lucero of Denver, Colorado pled guilty on October 8, 2021 to aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent Federal Income Tax Returns before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Andy Tsui announced. Lucero was indicted on May 18, 2021 and is scheduled to be sentenced on February 3, 2022. According to court documents, Lucero, a tax return preparer and owner of DBA Lucero Tax and Accounting, was identified as being involved in a return preparer scheme involving a high percentage of returns with questionable deductions for the years 2014-2017. The investigation also revealed Lucero inflated or fabricated unreimbursed employee business expenses and charitable contributions for some of his clients, decreasing the client's taxable income and increasing their federal tax refund. "As we approach the October 15 tax extension filing deadline, think twice before preparing false tax returns as the IRS remains vigilant and will aggressively pursue those who attempt to defraud our tax system, "said Andy Tsui, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Field Office. "An attempt to defraud the IRS by preparing false tax returns is a theft against the American public and honest taxpayers." Lucero agreed to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of all taxes, interest and penalties due and owing since March 2016 in an amount to be determined by the court at sentencing. Court documents state the estimated total restitution amount for which Lucero is liable is $233,531. According to the plea agreement, Lucero also faces up to 36 months in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release. This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Sibert.
