Dothan tax preparer sentenced to nearly five years in prison for filing false tax returns

Date: Sept. 11, 2026

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

Montgomery, AL – A Dothan, Alabama tax preparer was sentenced yesterday to 57 months in federal prison for aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of false tax returns, announced United States Attorney Thomas Govan for the Middle District of Alabama.

“The defendant was entrusted with helping taxpayers comply with the law, yet she repeatedly chose to manipulate the tax system for her own benefit,” said U.S. Attorney Govan. “What makes this case particularly troubling is that the defendant did not change her ways after being indicted. While on federal pretrial release and under an explicit order not to commit additional crimes, she continued preparing false tax returns. Her decision to disregard both the law and the conditions of her release resulted in additional criminal charges and a significant federal prison sentence.”

“As a tax preparer, Carlotta Lampley had a responsibility to prepare and submit accurate tax returns for herself and her clients,” said Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman of the IRS Criminal Investigation Atlanta Field Office. “She failed to fulfill that responsibility in order to obtain fraudulent refunds. IRS Criminal Investigation special agents will investigate unscrupulous tax preparers, and they will be held accountable for their actions.”

According to court documents and statements made in court, Carlotta Elaine Lampley operated a tax preparation service in Dothan and began preparing tax returns for clients in 2015. As part of her business practice, Lampley commonly withheld her tax-preparation fees from clients’ tax refunds before transferring the remaining refund proceeds to the clients.

An investigation revealed that Lampley prepared and filed false tax returns for herself and various clients during tax years 2020 through 2025.

In her plea agreement, Lampley admitted that, in 2024, she prepared and filed a federal income tax return for herself for the 2023 tax year that falsely reported her income as $52,343. Lampley knew the reported income was false because it failed to include fees she earned from preparing clients’ tax returns and withheld from their refunds.

A federal grand jury subsequently indicted Lampley, and she was arrested on Sept. 24, 2025. As a condition of her pretrial release, Lampley was prohibited from committing any new violations of law while awaiting trial.

Despite being under federal indictment and released on bond, Lampley continued to prepare false tax returns. On Jan. 22, 2026, she prepared a tax return for a client that falsely claimed the client operated a business and had earned a profit from that business, even though the client did not operate such a business and had never told Lampley that the client did. Lampley also falsely reported “other earned income” for the client despite knowing that the client had not received such income.

Lampley admitted that she knew the false statements were material and were intended to affect the client’s federal tax liability in a manner that benefited the client at the expense of the Internal Revenue Service and the American taxpayer. The conduct also violated the terms of her pretrial release and resulted in a superseding indictment charging Lampley with additional criminal conduct.

Lampley’s 57-month prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. 

During the Sept. 10, 2026, sentencing hearing, the court also ordered Lampley to pay restitution in the amount of $314,247. This consists of $62,915 associated with her own tax returns and $251,332 associated with tax returns she aided and assisted other taxpayers in filing. The estimated actual loss amount from Lampley’s false tax-return scheme over the full period of her criminal conduct exceeded $2.1 million.

The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division investigated this case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan A. Kirkpatrick prosecuted.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 16 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.