Jefferson City tax preparer sentenced for filing false tax returns

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City tax preparer was sentenced in federal court on Tuesday for filing false tax returns for himself and others, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.

Josiah Mator, Jr., 41, was sentenced to two years and nine months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Mator to pay a fine of $1,000 and $200,292 in restitution to the federal government and state of Missouri. On June 23, 2022, Mator was convicted of two counts of filing false federal income tax returns, the release states.

Mator prepared and electronically filed tax returns for people for tax years 2010-15. Mator did not have a registered tax preparation business, but used Express 1040 software to prepare his clients’ tax returns from his home.

The press release states individuals received substantial refunds they were not legally eligible to receive in 53 fraudulent claims related to the scheme. Mator criminal conduct resulted in a federal and state tax loss of $200,292.

Mator was found guilty of filing a false federal income tax return for his 2015 income. Mator claimed that his adjusted gross income in 2015 was $16,552, and his taxable income was $0, and did not include the business income from his tax preparation service.

Mator also was found guilty of filing a false federal income tax return for individuals identified as “I.A.” and L.A,” the release stated. The fraudulent return reported $16,000 in unreimbursed employee business expenses in 2015, although Mator knew I.A. and L.A. did not have any expenses related to their employment. As a result, I.A. and L.A. received a refund they were not legally eligible to receive.