Date: April 25, 2023 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Jeffrey Harmon, of Lexington, pleaded guilty after his jury trial had begun to two counts of filing false tax returns. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Harmon owned and operated TFL Worldwide, a tax preparation business through which he willfully prepared and filed returns for clients that claimed fraudulent deductions relating to, among other things, rent, utilities, meals, gifts, dues, and depreciation. In his plea, Harmon admitted to filing a false 2012 tax return for himself and to aiding and assisting in the preparation of a 2016 tax return claiming false deductions for rent and depreciation for one of his clients. Harmon agreed that the total tax loss from his criminal conduct was approximately $320,000. Harmon faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each false return count. He also faces a period of court-ordered supervision, monetary penalties, and restitution. United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis accepted Harmon’s guilty plea and will determine any sentence after considering a sentencing report prepared by the United States Probation Office. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Adair F. Boroughs for the District of South Carolina, and Special Agent in Charge Donald Trey Eakins of IRS-Criminal Investigation, Charlotte Field Office, made the announcement. IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Winston Holliday and Elle Klein for the District of South Carolina and Trial Attorney Wilson Stamm of the Justice Department’s Tax Division prosecuted the case.
