Date: Jan. 30, 2024 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov A Gloucester County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for filing false claims against the IRS, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Christian L. Whittaker, of Williamstown, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Christine P. O’Hearn to one count of an indictment charging him with making false claims against the IRS. Judge O’Hearn imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: Whittaker knowingly and willfully prepared, electronically signed, and filed with the IRS false U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns (Forms 1040) for the tax years 2016 to 2019. Whittaker claimed that a business paid him significant wages and incurred substantial losses, when in fact the business was fictitious. Based on the false claims, the IRS paid more than $300,000 in refunds to Whittaker. More than $80,000 was paid by the IRS and garnished to pay debts that Whittaker had previously incurred. In addition to the prison term, Judge O’Hearn sentenced Whittaker to three years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $390,682. U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Tammy Tomlins, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel A. Friedman and Andrew D’Aversa of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.
