New Jersey Return Preparer Charged with Preparing False Tax Returns and Obstructing the IRS

An indictment was unsealed last week charging a New Jersey return preparer with preparing and filing 55 false income tax returns on behalf of clients and obstructing the IRS.

According to the indictment, from at least 2018 through 2023, Christopher Demba, of Hillsborough, owned and operated Demba & Associates CPA LLC, a return preparation business. Demba allegedly prepared returns for clients that claimed false deductions, credit carryforwards or fraudulently recategorized income to claim expenses that would otherwise be disallowed. The indictment further alleges that Demba obstructed the IRS by providing false working papers to IRS personnel in an attempt to justify some of the claims made on returns he prepared for clients. 

If convicted, Demba faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count as well as a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Mark McDonald and Alexis Hughes of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.