Houston man allegedly filed fraud tax returns, got $260K in refunds

HOUSTON - Joseph Patrick Butler from Houston is scheduled to appear in court on fraud charges related to his federal tax returns, said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Butler allegedly filed fraudulent and false statements on his tax returns and is expected to make his first appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray on Wednesday.

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The charges stem from a four-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on April 4, which was unsealed upon Butler's arrest. The indictment accuses Butler of signing false joint Form 1040 U.S. individual income tax returns for tax years 2017 through 2020, resulting in inflated tax refunds that he was not entitled to receive.

Butler's joint tax returns contain false entries saying he received hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages and his employers withheld more than $100,000 per year the indictment stated.

In court records, it alleged Butler fraudulently obtained more than $260,000 in refunds for tax years 2013 through 2020.

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If convicted, Butler could face up to three years in federal prison and a maximum possible fine of $250,000 for each of the four counts.

The investigation into Butler's alleged tax fraud was conducted by the IRS Criminal Investigation Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brad Gray and Shirin Hakimzadeh are prosecuting the case.