An Indiana tax preparer will spend the next year and a half behind bars for cooking the books on more than 460 tax returns. Anita Marie Rodriguez Perez, 51, of Sellersburg received an 18-month sentence to federal prison, followed by a two-year supervised release. She was also hit with a hefty restitution bill to the tune of nearly $2 million dollars, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Indiana.
Between 2021 and 2023, Perez operated a tax prep service, ChuliTodo, in Clark County. Found in her fraudulent schemes, she filed returns featuring fake business losses and exaggerated deductions, tricking the IRS into giving unwarranted refunds to her clients. Perez’s operation, having churned out an estimated 463 fraudulent tax returns, led to a significant tax loss totaling over $1.5 million over two years.
These tax games aren’t just illegal—they heap undue strain on honest taxpayers and rattle the trust between tax preparers and their clients. “Tax fraud undermines the integrity of our financial system and unfairly shifts the burden onto honest taxpayers,” stated Tom Wheeler, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, captured in court statements, as per the U.S. Attorney’s Office website. He also emphasized that tax preparers abusing their know-how for deception are breaking the law and shattering client trust…