Richland Tax Preparer Accused of Filing Multiple Fraudulent Returns

Up to three years in prison and a variety of penalties and fees could be in the future for the sole operator of a now closed Richland tax preparation service.

Jonathan F. Schumann was the sole proprietor, or operator, of the now defunct J's Income Tax which operated out of an office on West Gage Boulevard since 2003. He also did some operations out of his home.

Authorities did not say when discrepancies were discovered in his filings, but he is accused in Federal court of preparing and filing either 15 or 15 fraudulent returns in 2015 and 2016 according to court papers.

He could face up to three years in federal prison for allegedly aiding and assisting in the fraudulent reports. Authorities say he was aware these clients were making deductions and claims on their returns that were over inflated or inaccurate with the hope of minimizing tax bills or getting bigger returns. Officials say he did nothing to stop them from doing it. Federal laws prohibit tax preparation workers from allowing this to happen. He apparently would deduct his prep fees from these over inflated returns, thereby making more money, according to court papers.

Officials say the areas where the fraud occurred was in charitable deductions, personal and property taxes, and un-reimbursed employee expenses. The clients were only listed by initials in the public court documents. Schumann has not yet appeared in court, it is not yet known when he will make a plea on the charges.

Officials did not specifically say how the discrepancies and fraud were discovered. A search online shows no records of his J's Income Tax business.