YORK COUNTY MAN ARRESTED FOR PREPARING NINE FRAUDULENT TAX RETURNS
South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR) agents today arrested a York County man and charged him with seven counts of willful preparation of a false Income Tax return, two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses, and one count of delivering false tax documents.
According to arrest warrants, Bernard Tyronne Howard Sr., 61, of Fort Mill, prepared nine fraudulent Income Tax returns for tax years 2017 and 2018 for himself, his wife, and three children. Neither his wife nor children were aware there were fraudulent deductions and withholdings reported on their returns.
Howard prepared and filed returns for family members claiming fraudulent business losses and false withholdings that were never collected or paid to the state, the warrants allege. He made or altered multiple fraudulent form W-2s and 1099s to send to the SCDOR to verify the returns he submitted. Combined, the nine returns claimed a total of $83,768 in South Carolina Income Tax refunds. Howard told SCDOR agents he filed fraudulent federal and state Income Tax returns in order to receive refunds. He owes a total of $35,551 in taxes as a result of his actions.
If convicted, Howard faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and/or a fine of $500 for each count of preparing a false return, five years in prison or a fine at the discretion of the court for the counts of obtaining property under false pretenses, and one year in prison and/or a fine of $5,000 for the charge of delivering a false tax document.
He is being held in the York County Detention Center pending a bond hearing.
The SCDOR is committed to the fair administration of tax laws. By taking enforcement action against noncompliant taxpayers, the Department seeks to prevent unfairly increasing the tax burden on those who do comply.
If you suspect or know of anyone or a business that has committed a state tax crime, such as tax evasion or tax fraud, contact SCDOR Criminal Investigation and submit a Tax Violation Complaint Form (CID-27) to criminalinvestigation@dor.sc.gov or mail it to:
South Carolina Department of Revenue
Attn: Fraud Advisor
181 East Evans Street, Suite 5
Florence, SC 29506
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