Date: Feb. 27, 2024 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov A Bergen County, New Jersey, woman today admitted to tax evasion, to helping her clients file falsified tax returns that generated larger refunds, and to filing false declarations on quarterly tax returns for her tax return preparation business, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Joshlyn Raye, of Elmwood Park, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to an information charging her with one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false and fraudulent tax return; one count of tax evasion; and one count of filing a false declaration under penalty of perjury concerning a quarterly tax return on behalf of her tax return business. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: From March 2010 to September 2023, Raye was the owner of JB Tax Services, a tax return preparation business in Hackensack, New Jersey. She knowingly and willfully evaded her personal income taxes over three of those years; filed 50 false tax returns on behalf of her clients; and filed three false quarterly employment tax returns on behalf of her tax return preparation business. Raye used fabricated and inflated figures, including expenses and itemized deductions. The counts of aiding or assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return and filing a false declaration under penalty of perjury each carry a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The count of tax evasion carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. As part of her plea agreement, Raye has agreed to pay the government restitution of $676,168, and to file amended tax returns. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 6, 2024. 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 guilty plea. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Levin of the National Security Unit in Newark.
