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HOUSTON - A Houston-area woman is accused of willfully helping clients file false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service.
What we know:
Bobbie Zermeno, also known as Roberta Villareal, is accused of adding false credits or deductions to tax returns to lower tax liability for her clients.
U.S. Attorney John G.E. Mack said Zermeno would use false Schedule C losses for businesses that did not exist and false car mileage records that would fraudulently increase her clients' tax refunds, sometimes by thousands of dollars.
Zermeno would earn money from the scheme by charging preparation fees to her clients. The Department of Justice said some of those fees were not disclosed to those clients.
The DOJ said Zermeno ran her tax preparation business in Houston between 2017 and 2022.
What's next:
Zermeno was scheduled to make an initial court appearance Tuesday.
She's facing 14 counts of aiding in the preparation and filing of false tax returns. Each count carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison and fines up to $250,000 if convicted.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas.