Date: September 23, 2021 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Greensboro, NC — A Hoke County resident was sentenced today in federal court in Greensboro for aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, announced Acting United States Attorney Sandra J. Hairston of the Middle District of North Carolina. Nikki Decole Cunningham-Quick, of Raeford, North Carolina, was sentenced to a 36-month term of imprisonment by Senior United States District N. Carlton Tilley, Jr. In addition to prison time, Cunningham-Quick was ordered to serve one year of supervised release and to pay a special assessment of $100.00. Cunningham-Quick owes the IRS $308,312 in restitution. She pleaded guilty on July 9, 2020, to aiding in the preparation of a false tax return, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(2). According to court records, Cunningham-Quick prepared a number of false tax returns for some clients of her business, "Nikki's Tax Service." The court records indicate Cunningham-Quick routinely included false items on federal income tax returns of some clients, including the use of false dependents, false income, and false education credits, all of which produced fraudulently inflated refunds. In total, the tax loss associated with the fraudulent refunds that Cunningham-Quick prepared was $1,494,924.26, according to court records. IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tanner Kroeger.
