Date: May 15, 2023 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov MIAMI — Abel Raphael of Key West, Florida has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay almost $150,000 in restitution for aiding and assisting the preparation and presentation of false tax returns. Following his guilty plea in October 2022. Raphael was a professional tax return preparer and operated Abel Income Tax Service Inc., in Monroe County. In connection with his guilty plea, Raphael admitted that he obtained an Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN) to submit tax returns electronically to the IRS in the names of others. Raphael prepared the returns using false deduction and tax credit figures, then electronically filed them with the IRS. U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore. IRS-CI Miami and FBI Miami, Key West Resident Agency investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Thompson prosecuted it.
