The Brief
- A Minnesota tax preparer has been convicted of filing more than $1 million in false tax returns for clients.
- Cortez Hollis faces up to three years in prison for each of 20 counts.
- Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minnesota tax preparer has been found guilty of preparing false tax returns for clients, resulting in more than $1 million in fraudulent losses.
Tax preparer convicted for fraudulent returns
What we know:
Cortez Hollis, owner of Hollis Tax Time, was convicted by a federal jury for filing false tax returns on behalf of his clients. Evidence presented at trial showed Hollis claimed fake business losses to generate large refunds, which his clients were not entitled to receive.
Hollis often paid himself tax preparation fees of $2,000 or more from these refunds, sometimes without his clients’ knowledge. The government established that he added more than $1 million in fraudulent losses to client tax returns and sought about $387,000 in improper refunds.…