Former manager of Virginia Beach tax service sentenced to prison

NORFOLK, Va. – A North Carolina woman was sentenced Monday to nearly five years in prison for her role in a conspiracy to prepare false tax returns for her customers.

Court documents say that 32-year-old Markita D. Simon, was the manager of a now-closed, Virginia Beach-based tax preparation service known as Express Tax Preparation Services.

From December 2014 to February 2016, Simon was responsible for using false information in her customers’ tax returns in order to generate a higher refund amount. In some cases, she falsely stated that the customer had dependent children so that the customer would qualify for beneficial tax credits.

Simon also filed returns using the names and social security numbers of real persons without their knowledge. The court found that she was responsible for a tax loss of approximately $203,000.