Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Florence tax preparers plead guilty to federal charges

Staff Report //December 4, 2019//

Florence tax preparers plead guilty to federal charges

Staff Report //December 4, 2019//

Listen to this article

Two Florence tax preparers have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to aid in the presentation of filing false income tax returns.

Donna Faye Shird, 41, and Felicia Renee Shird, 42, will be sentenced by a federal judge once their court documents are reviewed, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Sherri A. Lydon’s office.

The Shirds operated Donna’s Tax Service in Florence, which provided tax preparation and filing services.

Federal prosecutors say that from 2012-2017, the Shirds routinely added fictitious information to personal tax returns they prepared for customers to artificially increase the amount of refunds customers received. Investigators discovered the customers provided the Shirds with correct information for their income tax returns, but the Shirds created returns based on falsely claimed deductions, credits and exemptions to which the taxpayers were not entitled.

Falsely claimed items included child and dependent care credits, business profits and losses, education credits, residential energy credits and earned income credits, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.  As a result, customers received fraudulently inflated tax refunds and Donna’s Income Tax Service attracted more customers based on a reputation for producing large refunds, according to the release.

The Shirds face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

p