Former Utica tax preparer pleads guilty to filing false tax returns

 

Date: April 21, 2023

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

Dianna Nolan, formerly of Utica, New York, pled guilty yesterday in federal court in Utica to filing false income tax returns. The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Thomas Fattorusso, Executive Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI), New York Field Office.

In pleading guilty, Nolan admitted that she worked as a professional tax return preparer in Oneida County, New York, between at least 2014 through 2018. On her personal income tax returns for tax years 2017 and 2018, Nolan intentionally did not report all the income she received as a tax return preparer. Nolan also filed income tax returns on behalf of clients that falsely claimed losses from rental properties, thereby reducing the total taxes owed by these clients and causing losses to the IRS. In a signed plea agreement, Nolan agreed to pay restitution to the IRS totaling $101,636 for tax years 2014 through 2018.

Nolan, who recently relocated to Florida, will be sentenced on August 17, 2023. The charge to which Nolan pled guilty carries a maximum sentence of 3 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, a term of supervised release of u to 1 year, and a special assessment of $100. A defendant's sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case is being investigated by Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI), and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael F. Perry and Melissa O. Rothbart.