Philly tax preparer claimed clients had wind turbines and solar panels that didn’t exist. Now, he’s going to prison.
As the owner of Jean Tax Financial & Notary Services in Elmwood, he filed at least 146 false returns for more than 50 clients.
A Delaware County man who prepared false tax returns for dozens of clients — and continued to work as a preparer after pleading guilty — was sentenced Monday to three years in federal prison.
As the owner of Jean Tax Financial & Notary Services in Southwest Philadelphia, James Jean filed at least 146 false returns, claiming energy credits for wind turbines, solar panels, and geothermal heating systems that his clients did not have, prosecutors said in court documents.
The 57-year-old Yeadon man pleaded guilty last year to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return. As part of the agreement, he also admitted to filing another 145 false returns for more than 50 clients in tax years 2018, 2019, and 2020, according to court documents. He also filed inaccurate returns for himself during those years.
In all, according to a plea agreement signed by Jean, he decreased his and his clients’ tax liabilities by more than $727,000.
Jean added the false information “willfully and without seeking any verbal or documentary information from his clients about the alleged expenditures,” prosecutors wrote in court documents. He “also did not review returns with his clients; therefore some or all of his clients were likely unaware that false energy credits had been used to lower their tax liabilities and/or increase their refunds.”
Jean’s motive was simple, prosecutors said in a statement: “He wanted to increase client refunds and client satisfaction.”
Attorneys for Jean did not return requests for comment.
Jean’s guilty plea was in regard to a 2019 tax return on which he claimed a client had spent $12,555 on “qualified small wind energy property costs,” which the IRS defines as costs associated with using a wind turbine for home electricity. Jean claimed the client was entitled to a $3,767 credit as a result. Prosecutors said there was no evidence of a wind turbine on the client’s property.
After pleading guilty, Jean continued to work as a paid tax preparer, unbeknownst to court officials or prosecutors, who say he used the electronic filing identification number of his ailing mother to file more than 1,000 returns. Throughout court proceedings, Jean had testified that he was no longer working in the field, saying he was only driving for Uber and Lyft and working in home health services. Even after a sentencing hearing was postponed due to the discovery that Jean was still preparing tax returns, prosecutors say he continued to use the identification number more than 70 times.
The omission led prosecutors to push for a stiffer sentence of 41 to 51 months imprisonment. U.S. District Judge John F. Murphy ultimately sentenced Jean to three years in prison, the statutory maximum for the count to which he pleaded. Jean is also to serve one year of supervised release, and pay a $10,000 fine and more than $12,000 in restitution, which represents the tax loss from his own false returns.
As for the other returns, his clients are on the hook for additional tax liabilities.
Jean, who has a master’s degree and kept up with annual tax-prep training, ran his business out of a rowhouse in the Elmwood section of Southwest Philadelphia. A Facebook page that appears to represent the now-defunct company advertised flat fees of $120 for in-house e-filing of state and federal taxes and $150 for house calls.