Date: October 28, 2021 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Birmingham, AL — A tax preparer pleaded guilty today to preparing false tax returns on behalf of himself and his clients resulting in a tax loss to the U.S. taxpayer of more than $140,000, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and IRS Criminal Investigations Atlanta Field Office Special Agent in Charge James Dorsey. Jamichael D. Whiteside of Gadsden, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor to one count of aiding or assisting in the preparation of a false tax return and one count of making and subscribing a false tax return. According to the plea agreement, between tax years 2016 and 2019, Whiteside prepared materially false tax returns for several clients at ZJ Tax Service in Gadsden. To generate larger income tax returns for his clients, Whiteside falsified dependent care expenses, education expenses, charitable deductions, and included fabricated losses for businesses that did not exist. In addition to preparing and filing false tax returns on behalf of his clients, Whiteside willfully underreported his own income in tax years 2016 and 2017. In total, Whiteside's actions resulted in more than $140,000 in tax loss. The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations Atlanta Field Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan "Jack" Harrington is prosecuting the case.
