A Gilroy man who owned a San Jose-based tax preparer and his
assistant were sentenced to county jail for aiding and abetting his
clients to file fraudulent state income tax returns, the Franchise
Tax Board announced.
Staff
San Jose
A Gilroy man who owned a San Jose-based tax preparer and his assistant were sentenced to county jail for aiding and abetting his clients to file fraudulent state income tax returns, the Franchise Tax Board announced.
Jeff R. Welch, 62, of Gilroy, owned and operated Accountable Financial Services with Joy Ramoran, 32, of San Francisco, employed as his assistant.
Welch was sentenced to four months in county jail and Ramoran was sentenced to 60 days. In addition, both were ordered to pay restitution of more than $90,200. As part of his three-year probation, Welch was also ordered to not assist in the preparation of tax returns on behalf of his clients.
According to court documents, between 2000 and 2004 the pair prepared and filed false tax returns that claimed fraudulent or fraudulently inflated Child and Dependent Care Credit Expenses. The false credits generated increased refunds on behalf of their clients. In one instance, Welch electronically filed a client’s return and claimed the head of household filing status with one dependent. In reality, the client was married with two children neither of whom was in daycare. Welch and Ramoran benefited from an increase in the number of clients and from charging fees for form preparations that were not required.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Barnum handed down the sentence. Deputy District Attorney John Chase of the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office
prosecuted the case. The case was discovered by FTB’s internal fraud detection program.
