Former VB tax service manager gets nearly 5 years for preparing false returns

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A North Carolina woman who managed a now-closed Virginia Beach-based tax service is facing nearly five years in prison for her role in a conspiracy to prepare false tax returns for her customers.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Eastern Virginia said in a news release 32-year-old Markita D. Simon, of Rocky Mount, was the manager at Express Tax Preparation Services.

Simon was responsible for using false information in her customers’ tax returns to get higher refunds between December 2014 and February 2016.

The release said Simon filed these returns using people’s names and social security numbers without their knowledge. A federal court found she was responsible for a tax loss of around $203,000.